“One of the things I miss about living in the UK is the transportation system over there. It’s easy to get on the train and go from point A to point B. Over here, everybody’s driving. Hardly anyone is walking.

“I didn’t learn to drive for the longest time. I kept procrastinating. I relied on my husband to get me places. When I finally took my driver’s test a few years ago, I had a couple wrecks and I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t want to do this. This is scary. I’m going to kill myself.’ I was a nervous driver, so I stopped driving for a few years.

“The last three or four years, I’ve been driving around Baytown. But I hadn’t ever gone on the freeway. Recently I decided I was ready to face my fear, especially because Uber is making too much money from me.

“My first trip on the freeway was a few weeks ago. My mom was here visiting, so I decided to drive us to Galveston. So there I was, holding on for grim death. The scariest thing for me is the merging. It kind of freaks me out. Like, what if they don’t stop or what if I do something wrong? I know it sounds dumb when you say it. But with my kids in the car, it’s like I’m risking lives.

“At least now I’ve got the first trip out of the way. So watch out, Baytown, here I come. I need to get around.”

— Samantha Rodriguez

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The post After scary start, she’s adjusting to freeway driving appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“When my dad and I were moving from Florida to Texas, I was driving and he slept a lot of the time. He kept telling me to stop, to get some rest. But the thing is, I couldn’t sleep in the truck because my seat couldn’t go back. So I drove nonstop except to get gas. That was 14 hours.

“While I was driving, I kept looking at the signs and how many miles it took to get from one city to another. Like from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, it was about 160 miles. And from Tallahassee to Pensacola, it was another 200 miles. I kept thinking, this place is so large. It’s nothing like where we’re from in Trinidad, which is a small island. In two hours, you could get from one end of our country to the other.

“That was how life was before I moved here. It wasn’t that big. Until I made that drive and saw the miles on those road signs, I never really understood the full scale of how big this country is. Now I want to do more road trips. I want to see things and do things. I want to explore this country and everything it offers.”

— Obed Chattergoon

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The post Trinidad native excited to explore his new home appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I was in an open setting for the last 10 to 15 years in prison. It’s like you’re living in a glass house. You do anything, everybody knows about it. There was absolutely no privacy.

“That was one of the weirdest things when I got out. I could go into a room all by myself and shut the door. I never had that for 20 years. I never had a private moment.

“It was also weird to be able to just walk down the street whenever I wanted. At first, if I had to cross a four-lane road, I needed a half mile of clear traffic both ways before I felt safe. Just getting used to the speed of things and your own mobility, it was very awkward.

“I didn’t want to drive, either. I was scared. So I took up biking first, which ultimately led to driving. I had to get an ID before a driver’s license. You realize pretty fast that you’re nothing without an ID. I had to become a human being all over again.”

— Mike

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The post Life after prison includes plenty of adjustments appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve been in the wrecker business for the past 25 years. I’ll go wherever you need me to go.

“At 3 o’clock the other morning I went out and helped a little old lady who had blown a radiator hose on I-10. She was scared to death. I don’t like to see anybody sitting on the side of the road waiting, so I got there as soon as I could.

“I enjoy dealing with the public and meeting all kinds of people. And there are some very unique people out there.”

The post As a wrecker driver, you meet all kinds of people appeared first on The Baytown Project.