The Ryan report . . .
It was midmorning when the former governor heard the phone ring while stirring a pot.
It was a call from his attorney Tim Rooney with news. Good news -- this time.
"I was making bean soup," Ryan told Sneed.
"I was cutting up some ham left over from Thanksgiving and putting it in the pot when Tim called to say he thought we'd won our plea [to remain free on bail pending the appeal of his corruption conviction].
"But he wasn't sure -- so he said he'd call right back."
When Rooney called Ryan back minutes later, it was thumbs up: Ryan had received a reprieve.
He was not going to have to report to prison Jan. 4 to begin serving his 6½-year sentence on federal corruption charges. He would be allowed to remain out on bond pending appeal.
"I'm almost breathless," Ryan said.
The U.S. attorney's office did not comment, but such rulings can mean an appeals court feels the odds of winning an appeal are good.
Sneed's phone interview took place 10 minutes after Ryan had received the call.
"How do I feel? How do I feel? I'm elated," he said with the breathless staccato of a man still trying to ingest the news.
"But I still haven't talked to Lura Lynn. She's been on the phone working on her Abraham Lincoln committee duties."
A phone rang in the background. It was one of his daughters.
"We had the whole kit and caboodle over for Thanksgiving. My six kids and their families. It was wonderful."
(I'm thinking it must have been hard to give thanks when prison was barely a month away.)
"I'd really like to say more, but my lawyers have advised me not to talk about the case. So I'm not going to."
Then he paused. And quietly added.
"But I'll tell you one thing. There is a God."
• • To wit: Davis, who has been running his soul food restaurant, Wallace's Catfish Corner, after spending four years in prison on federal corruption charges, has the backing of Rep. Danny Davis, whose congressional district includes the 2nd Ward.
"He would represent the little guy," Davis told Sneed.
