#90 Never Look Back, Never Go Back - Meg Thibodeaux, Skyline Tavern Project

Deciding "never, never to go back (to prison)", our returning guest Meg Thibodeaux was a single Mom when she entered the prison system with a son 18 months old staying on the outside. She began her criminal career as an entrepreneur, doing a bad job of choosing a dating partner and being dazzled with the huge profit margins selling Ecstasy drugs. Her involvement put her in the circle of organized crime families in the New York area and also in the crosshairs of law enforcement. Feeling disconnected and lacking confidence, being a dealer made her feel wanted and empowered; she was now in control. Of course, it ended with incarceration in 2003 in Federal, then transferred to County jail in the same county where she had previously imported and sold her drugs. The irony here is when she was arrested, she had been clean and sober for three years and had a two-month old son. Fast forward: She, her son and new partner have taken her love of yoga, art and clean living to help people manage their lives and have transformed a tavern into a beautiful part of the world. But it's not your usual tavern; alcohol is not a focus, the focus is using the tavern as an entryway to Forest Park, the largest urban park in the US. Meg urges her customers to enjoy art, good organic food and beverage or to go for a hike - they even sponsor runs in the Park. She has come full circle and turned her experiences and triumphs into inspiration for all, especially ex-felons. Felony Inc Podcast with your hosts Dick Hennessy and Mark Gailey We record the Felony Inc Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland. Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main Website was designed by Cameron Grimes Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster Theme music "Free" written and recorded by Dave Dahl, all rights reserved, motherfuckers This weeks podcast brought to you in part by soap-on-a-rope, when you don't want to drop stuff Felony Inc Podcast supports City Central Concern at centralcityconcern.org 10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes Listen to the Felony Inc Podcast live on-air every Friday at 10:00am pacific time on Startup Radio Network at startupradionetwork.com