Two years ago, Valentine’s Day arrived about six weeks after I reported to a federal prison in Ashland, Kentucky. Following a movielike sting operation in which I, then a Cincinnati City Council member, received campaign donations from undercover FBI agents, a jury convicted me of one count of federal extortion and one count of federal bribery, alongside four acquittals. A judge handed down a 16-month sentence. For more than a year, I would be separated from my wife, Sarah, and our two young sons, then 1 and 4.
While there was nothing I could do to immediately fix the situation, I was determined to at least still try to make birthdays and holidays—Valentine’s Day included—as special as possible. So, weeks in advance, I began my plan. Despite having little to no crafting abilities, I cut a piece of paper into the shape of a heart, as though I were an elementary school student, and scrawled a personalized Valentine’s note.
