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By the time he was 11, Albert Okal appreciated the simple pleasures in life.

Cooking for his stepmother or helping her fix her car.

Trips to the zoo and science center.

Having a roof over his head and a faith in the opportunities ahead of him.

“She has given me a home in this beautiful country and taught me about God,” he wrote of his stepmom, who brought him to St. Charles County from his native Kenya when he was 2. “She helps me with my homework so I can grow up and take care of myself. I like to surprise her with supper when she comes home from work tired.”

Okal had won an essay contest on parenting and as a reward got to take his stepmom to a Cardinals game. Part of his essay appeared in the Post-Dispatch.

Three years ago, at the age of 41, Okal found himself in more difficult circumstances.

He was strapped to a restraint chair in the Wayne County Jail with a bag over his head.

Okal had been transferred to the jail in southern Missouri from the St. Charles County jail, where he was held on a suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He faced a probation violation in Wayne County for a previous DWI charge.