Weldon Long - The Upside of Fear: How One Man Broke the Cycle of Prison, Poverty, and Addiction

How One Man Broke the Cycle
of Prison, Poverty, and Addiction

WELDON LONG

Published by Greenleaf Book Group Press
Austin, TX
www.greenleafbookgroup.com

Copyright 2009 Weldon Wally Long

All rights reserved under all copyright conventions.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
written permission from the publisher.

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For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
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Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group LLC
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group LLC

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Long, Weldon.
The upside of fear : how one man broke the cycle of prison, poverty, and
addiction / Weldon Long. -- 1st ed.
p.; cm.
ISBN: 978-1-60832-176-6
1. Long, Weldon. 2. Criminals--Colorado--Biography. 3. Addicts--Colorado--Effect
of imprisonment on. 4. Businessmen--Colorado--Biography. 5. Life change events.
I. Title.

HV6248.L66 A3 2009

364.1/092 2009925204

Part of the Tree Neutral program, which offsets the number of trees
consumed in the production and printing of this book by taking proactive
steps, such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees
used: www.treeneutral.com

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

09 10 11 12 13 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition

4 Im Going to Caon City, Caon City Here I Come :
December 1987 to Spring 1990

5 Back on the Street Again:
Spring 1990 to December 1, 1991

6 And Then There Were Two:
December 1, 1991 to January 1993

8 Back to the Can:
January 1993 to Fall 1993

9 Back on the Street Again (Reprise):
Fall 1993 to March 1995

10 Viva Las Vegas:
March 1995 to March 1996

11 The Turning Point:
March 1996 to August 1996

12 The Upside of Fear:
September 1996 to August 1997

13 Reality Bites:
December 1996 to July 1997

14 Not Out of the Woods Yet:
August 1997 to May 1999

15 Finished with the Feds:
May 14, 1999 to December 10, 1999

16 The Prodigal Son Returns to Caon City:
December 10, 1999 to October 2002

17 Back on the Streets Again (Final Reprise):
October 2002 to April 2003

18 Epilogue:
2003 to Present

EVERYONE IS AFRAID OF SOMETHING.

I was afraid of everything.

Sitting here on the lanai of our Maui home, looking out over the manicured fairways of the Bay Course at Kapalua and the deep blue water of the Pacific Ocean, I have finally found the peace of mind to do something that people have been encouraging me to do for yearswrite my life story. But I would not have been able to produce this book, or even survive my own self-destruction, if it had not been for the support of many people.

Id first like to thank my mother, Mary Wainwright Goudeau, who supported and loved me even when I was undeserving. I love you, Mom. To my father, Richard Long, Sr.I love you more than you knew and would give up everything to have one more day with you. To my siblings Susan, Richard (and Eloise), and DavidI love you and thank you for the love and friendship you have given me. To my sister Annettewe all love and miss you. My love and thanks to Grandmother Long as well. Thanks to the New Orleans Saints for giving me something to cheer and hope for and for always connecting me to homeWHO DAT! My thanks and love to Nana and Papa Jack Ilgen, who always accepted my collect calls, and to the rest of the Hamlin/Whitson family for taking care of Hunter while I went insane. To Chris, Josh, and Andrew: I wish I had been a better man when you were young, and I am proud of the men youve become.

My thanks to everyone at Wright Total Indoor Comfort and ITSUP2U Media for doing such a great job and making our businesses awesome.

Special thanks to my best friend on this planet, Charlie Beckham. You were there with me in my darkest moments, and Ill always treasure your friendship. Baby Christopher is lucky to have you as his dad.

Thanks to everyone at Greenleaf, especially Bill Crawford, who made this project unbelievably easy once I convinced him to stop red lining my work. Thanks to Justin Branch and John Rogan for dinner and getting excited about this project. My sincere thanks to Theresa Reding for making my story infinitely easier to read and to Sheila Parr for the beautiful and intriguing design workmakes me want to read this damn thing one more time.

I would like to thank Jo Ann Cole, Vince and Pattie Stephens, Martha, Gil, Chandler, Bailey Blood, and Hunter Cole for bringing me into the fold and accepting me, warts and all. Very, very special thanks to Jo Ann for introducing me to the paradise of Napili Kai.

Thanks to Mick Fleetwood and the Island Rumors Band and Kalapana for inspiring me under the Maui stars one summer night to get this book done. You never know when your music will touch a stranger, do you?

Thanks to Ron Chaulk for all the enthusiasm and support. Also, thanks to Patrick Shaw for teaching me that there is no time for whining and excuses and that affirmations work to ensure success in any endeavor even golf. And speaking of golf, thanks to all the guys in the Bill Cardone Golf Club for bringing me along for the ride. For a guy like me who never had many friends, the Golf Trips are special times even when Frank accidentally kills innocent animals. Finally, thanks to Diane Ward and Christine Kaberna for reviewing the earliest manuscript, and thanks to Darren Kaberna for letting us keep the house key.

Thanks to Dr. Wayne Dyer, Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Anthony Robbins, and Viktor Frankl. Your words saved my life.

Also a word of gratitude must go to Tom Ramunda, the best criminal defense attorney in Colorado. If not for your aggressive, brilliant legal work, my dreams could never have become a reality. Thanks for saving my ass.

Thanks to Chief Judge Gilbert Martinez for giving me one more chance.

To my wife, Janet, I will always love you for taking a chance, and I thank you for believing in a long shot like me. Thanks for being my biggest fan and most vocal cheerleader. Always, I will love you, and you are literally the woman of my dreams.

And to my son, Hunter, this story would never have happened without you. You gave me the motivation and strength to press on in my darkest hours. Because of you, I never gave up. I am so proud of the young man you have become, and I love you more than any father has ever loved a son.

And the greatest thanks of all goes to God for saving me from certain self-destruction and showing me the path out of darkness.

And finally, my sincere heartfelt apologies go to all those who were victims of my crimes and my insanity. I had no right to do the things I did. I am truly sorry.

MAUI IS NICER THAN PRISON.