This is part 3 of Jeff’s chronological story of his time.
You learn a lot from your bunkies (or “cellies”) about how to get by in prison. Not all of what your are told works. One of my bunkies was on his third prison sentence and had served in both federal and state prisons of different security levels at various times in his life. He taught me the most important lesson I’ve learned. You are instructed not to borrow anything or give anything of value from other inmates (I wrote about this in my second installment). Of course, borrowing, giving, and receiving items of value occurs all the time. It is so prevalent that I don’t think the guards could stop it. Sometimes the guards inadvertently take part in it. For example, some jobs that inmates are assigned will have access to rubber bands or paper clips. These are contraband. Yet, a rubber band or paper clip can be very helpful for storing food (like a bag of chips) or for, well, attaching paper together. One of the more ironic pieces of contraband that guards unwittingly partake in distributing is scotch tape. The mail room will seal your mail with scotch tape, which inmates are not allowed to have. Tape has quite a bit of value, mainly for attaching pictures to your locker.
So, you have this black market in various sundries, and trade occurs with people who are in a place for some transgression. You learn a lot about other inmates through this system, the same people with whom you will be doing your time. My first bunkie was a nice guy who would lend out cigarettes to the new inmates. He went into this arrangement without any expectation of anything in return. However, he would not tell the new inmate this, so after a few weeks, he would go back to that inmate and ask if he could spare a cigarette. He could tell by the response whether the guy was someone to be trusted. Some guys would not give him one. Others would gladly give him one. Still others would repay the cigarette without even being asked, a few giving him more than the one cigarette they had received.
I don’t think that the first and last types are qualities you learn. They reveal who you are. The second may to a degree be something you can learn, repay in kind what you owe. So, this helped me learn about myself and others around me. I try to repay more than I owe, that is, give something greater value in return. I think I just want to show my appreciation for the help offered me that I wanted to give back more than I received. Because of this, and because my first bunkie had been in for a while (they know everybody), I got a good reputation as a guy who can be trusted pretty quickly. I’m glad that I had that quality. Some guys will deny a return item, even when these items cost as little as a quarter, like a cigarette or a candy bar. This is the best investment you can make in prison, and this was the best lesson I learned in prison. Find out quickly whom you can trust.
On the outside, you can spend thousands of dollars to learn about whom to trust. You may make an investment in someone’s business, or help out a friend in a pinch. My brother is a banker, and he said if he could learn about which people would respond like this, he says the bank could save a lot of money from bad loans. Instead, people (and bankers) spend thousands of dollars and sometimes get excuses back. Budget is tight, or business just didn’t work out. Sorry, I have to buy a car, etc.
I made a similar comparison in a dating book I wrote (don’t look for it, it was never published). I believed that if you wanted to find out the true nature of a person, watch them when they drive. People tend to reveal their true nature while driving. I believe that because most often they are anonymous. They can cut people off, yell at them, curse, speed, and other selfish acts in the car. Lots of women would say that it is unfair to judge a guy that way (it was the guys who were mainly the jerks, but not always) and the argument was that they may drive like selfish jerks, but they treat their girlfriends differently. Eventually, they won’t. It’s their nature. If they are inherently selfish, they may hide it for a while, but it will come out.
Since I can’t dive a care while in prison, I have found a few other ways to learn about people’s character. A huge rule in most prisons is absolutely no cutting in line. However, at a prison camp this rule is not enforced by the inmates (the guards will sometimes enforce it, but they are not effective or consistent). At other higher security prisons you can get a beating for cutting in line. (I have heard that you can get a beating for reaching across the table for salt, but I’m thinking that is not is an exception rather than a regular occurrence). Because fighting is the fastest way to go to a higher security level, no one will get into a fight here. So, the punishment for breaking the rules (at least the inmates punishment) is removed, and many inmates cut in line. It’s just like my driving test for selfishness. If a guy will give other inmates the decency to respect the line, then how much more will they be trustworthy in bigger things. Not very much. Guys will say, that’s overreacting. After all, the food is terrible, and so it just saves a few minutes (we have to eat in 15 minutes). But, it’s the principal that matters, and it speaks volumes.
Which takes me to the next installment. The little things matter, everywhere, but much more so in prison.
Jeff
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Quarterly Update (#33)
I’ve been writing about some tips and rules that I have learned that have helped me get through my prison sentence. I will still write about those things, but every 3 months, I want to update the recent events about my time here. Jan. 13th, was the end of my 3rd quarter here at Taft. I’ve completed 9 months of my 3 year sentence. (10 months now, I posted this a bit late. - Scott)
The past three months were what I will call “holiday time.” It’s the toughest time of the year for most of the guys. The first holiday in the past three months was (of the third quarter) was Halloween. Since I have two young boys, Halloween is becoming a bigger event in my life than it had previously been in my household. My kids get excited about their costumes and getting candy. I spent a lot of time drawing pictures of haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns, etc, and I even wrote a little story for them about a witch who ran out of spells. It’s fun for me to be able to participate in these events in their lives, even though I’m not present physically.
At Taft, Halloween night was sort of a non-event. I think the weekend before Halloween, we had a few scary movies, but they cannot be rated R, so they probably weren’t that bad. I didn’t watch any of them, so I don’t know.
Thanksgiving was the next holiday, and there was much more ballyhoo surrounding that at the camp. There were no sports leagues going during that time, but the camp put on several special sports competitions. We had a big inter dorm soccer game. My dorm challenged another dorm and it was a very popular event. Over the weekend there was also a flag football game, and even a softball game (it was the Fall after all – and not baseball season). We also had a special Thanksgiving meal as well. It was not too bad. We had turkey with stuffing, corn on the cob, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Oddly, they did not serve mashed potatoes. WE did have green beans and a salad as well, but we have that frequently.
The weather also started to cool down around Thanksgiving and we had some pretty cold days in December. I was thankful for that. I don’t care for the hot weather, and I know it is coming soon. In December we started to get into the Christmas spirit. Christmas is really the only time that the staff here allows the prisoners to do any sort of celebrating. They actually encouraged us to decorate and had a contest for the best decorations and Christmas card. We also had caroling, talent shows, and other festivities. I think I would have enjoyed this normally, but there are too many inmates who complain about everything and sort of make is a chore rather than something that we don’t usually get to do. I helped decorate our dorm, but we had too many supervisors and not enough decorators. When no one can agree on where a decoration should go, it sort of defeats the spirit of the season. I got frustrated. So, after a few hours, I gave up. I tried the Christmas card contest, but I didn’t win. But, it was fun to make cards for my family.
The highlight for most of the inmates is the “Christmas bag” that the guards give the inmates. This was kind of highly anticipated, and so I was getting a bit anxious myself. Essentially, the Christmas bag was a bunch of sample size snacks and treats. The kind of size you would get at Halloween or on an airplane, with similar type snacks. Some candy bars, pretzels, cookies, chips, etc. On the black market, these were going for $6, which is pretty cheap compared to prior years where guys said that they could fetch $20 pretty regularly. I don’t want to complain, and this was my first bag, so for me, it was fun to get something. We also got a special Christmas dinner, but not quite as elaborate as Thanksgiving. We did get mashed potatoes, but no pie.
For me, Christmas was much more difficult to deal with emotionally than was Thanksgiving. Although the Christmas music, shows, and the like don’t focus on Christ, they do focus on being with family, and the constant reminders that the inmates are not with family make it a hard time for many of the men, including me. During Thanksgiving, I had similar emotions, but only for one day. The Christmas season and emotions pretty much start right after Thanksgiving. So, it is much harder to distance yourself from the emotions for 30 days. I was blessed to have my mom visit on Christmas Day. I didn’t really want my wife and kids to visit on Christmas Day, because I thought it would be a miserable way to spend Christmas for them. My wife would have to stay in Taft, probably away from her family, alone. That’s not fun. I don’t want my kids to remember Christmas as time in a hotel in Taft. Although, I was very thankful to have my mom visit because it helped me get through the day. Only one more Christmas to go, which brings me to New Years.
The biggest celebration that I have seen so far (covering Easter, Cinco De Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is New Year’s Eve. This surpassed Christmas by far. Lots of guys cooked and bought all kinds of snacks and stayed up to ring in the new year. I think the start of a new year has considerable significance to those behind bars. It’s the beginning of the year that brings you one more closer to release. It’s a huge psychological boost. The opposite of what most feel at Christmas. At the beginning of a New Year some can say, “I’m going home this year,” or “only one more year.” That sort of thing. Even though only 1 more day has passed, it’s seems to be a huge milestone. I know for me, getting through 2007 was a huge milestone.
The other news that has helped me get through the time here is my new job. I go out to a church in Taft and do janitorial type, some landscaping, and maintenance work with four other guys. The work can be tough, but it does pass the time. We also get fed very well compared to other inmates. We typically get hamburgers, Mexican food, Chinese food, chicken or pizza, and sandwiches. I do this five days a week, and it’s about as normal I have felt in the past 8 months. My first day going on the “out” crew was Dec. 20th. I think getting a normal meal was about the best Christmas present I could have asked for here. In addition, the church prepared an awesome Christmas dinner for us, and that was quite nice.
From Dec. 20 – Jan. 2 we went out 5 days (out of a possible 10 days). We go out every day now. This little church has a prison ministry and I like how they give the men an opportunity to feel productive and useful. The church is Westside Believers Fellowship if you want to look it up. I wouldn’t mind the readers giving them a thank you for me and the prisoners for their ministry to us. If you want to donate to the Taft out crew, I’ll have my brother link to the church website from my blog. I think the church would be really surprised by that.
My youngest son turned 2 in mid-December as well. This day did not bother me as much as the day when my oldest son turned 5 back in Sept. I don’t think my younger son quite knows what his birthday is so it doesn’t bother me as much to not be there for it. I’m sure that when he turns 3 in another year, it will be harder, but by then I will be close to release and won’t have to miss his 4th birthday. I will also be around for my oldest son’s 7th birthday, and that will help with missing the coming birthdays this year.
All in all, for this quarterly update, I’m glad that 2007 is behind me.
Jeff
The past three months were what I will call “holiday time.” It’s the toughest time of the year for most of the guys. The first holiday in the past three months was (of the third quarter) was Halloween. Since I have two young boys, Halloween is becoming a bigger event in my life than it had previously been in my household. My kids get excited about their costumes and getting candy. I spent a lot of time drawing pictures of haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns, etc, and I even wrote a little story for them about a witch who ran out of spells. It’s fun for me to be able to participate in these events in their lives, even though I’m not present physically.
At Taft, Halloween night was sort of a non-event. I think the weekend before Halloween, we had a few scary movies, but they cannot be rated R, so they probably weren’t that bad. I didn’t watch any of them, so I don’t know.
Thanksgiving was the next holiday, and there was much more ballyhoo surrounding that at the camp. There were no sports leagues going during that time, but the camp put on several special sports competitions. We had a big inter dorm soccer game. My dorm challenged another dorm and it was a very popular event. Over the weekend there was also a flag football game, and even a softball game (it was the Fall after all – and not baseball season). We also had a special Thanksgiving meal as well. It was not too bad. We had turkey with stuffing, corn on the cob, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Oddly, they did not serve mashed potatoes. WE did have green beans and a salad as well, but we have that frequently.
The weather also started to cool down around Thanksgiving and we had some pretty cold days in December. I was thankful for that. I don’t care for the hot weather, and I know it is coming soon. In December we started to get into the Christmas spirit. Christmas is really the only time that the staff here allows the prisoners to do any sort of celebrating. They actually encouraged us to decorate and had a contest for the best decorations and Christmas card. We also had caroling, talent shows, and other festivities. I think I would have enjoyed this normally, but there are too many inmates who complain about everything and sort of make is a chore rather than something that we don’t usually get to do. I helped decorate our dorm, but we had too many supervisors and not enough decorators. When no one can agree on where a decoration should go, it sort of defeats the spirit of the season. I got frustrated. So, after a few hours, I gave up. I tried the Christmas card contest, but I didn’t win. But, it was fun to make cards for my family.
The highlight for most of the inmates is the “Christmas bag” that the guards give the inmates. This was kind of highly anticipated, and so I was getting a bit anxious myself. Essentially, the Christmas bag was a bunch of sample size snacks and treats. The kind of size you would get at Halloween or on an airplane, with similar type snacks. Some candy bars, pretzels, cookies, chips, etc. On the black market, these were going for $6, which is pretty cheap compared to prior years where guys said that they could fetch $20 pretty regularly. I don’t want to complain, and this was my first bag, so for me, it was fun to get something. We also got a special Christmas dinner, but not quite as elaborate as Thanksgiving. We did get mashed potatoes, but no pie.
For me, Christmas was much more difficult to deal with emotionally than was Thanksgiving. Although the Christmas music, shows, and the like don’t focus on Christ, they do focus on being with family, and the constant reminders that the inmates are not with family make it a hard time for many of the men, including me. During Thanksgiving, I had similar emotions, but only for one day. The Christmas season and emotions pretty much start right after Thanksgiving. So, it is much harder to distance yourself from the emotions for 30 days. I was blessed to have my mom visit on Christmas Day. I didn’t really want my wife and kids to visit on Christmas Day, because I thought it would be a miserable way to spend Christmas for them. My wife would have to stay in Taft, probably away from her family, alone. That’s not fun. I don’t want my kids to remember Christmas as time in a hotel in Taft. Although, I was very thankful to have my mom visit because it helped me get through the day. Only one more Christmas to go, which brings me to New Years.
The biggest celebration that I have seen so far (covering Easter, Cinco De Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) is New Year’s Eve. This surpassed Christmas by far. Lots of guys cooked and bought all kinds of snacks and stayed up to ring in the new year. I think the start of a new year has considerable significance to those behind bars. It’s the beginning of the year that brings you one more closer to release. It’s a huge psychological boost. The opposite of what most feel at Christmas. At the beginning of a New Year some can say, “I’m going home this year,” or “only one more year.” That sort of thing. Even though only 1 more day has passed, it’s seems to be a huge milestone. I know for me, getting through 2007 was a huge milestone.
The other news that has helped me get through the time here is my new job. I go out to a church in Taft and do janitorial type, some landscaping, and maintenance work with four other guys. The work can be tough, but it does pass the time. We also get fed very well compared to other inmates. We typically get hamburgers, Mexican food, Chinese food, chicken or pizza, and sandwiches. I do this five days a week, and it’s about as normal I have felt in the past 8 months. My first day going on the “out” crew was Dec. 20th. I think getting a normal meal was about the best Christmas present I could have asked for here. In addition, the church prepared an awesome Christmas dinner for us, and that was quite nice.
From Dec. 20 – Jan. 2 we went out 5 days (out of a possible 10 days). We go out every day now. This little church has a prison ministry and I like how they give the men an opportunity to feel productive and useful. The church is Westside Believers Fellowship if you want to look it up. I wouldn’t mind the readers giving them a thank you for me and the prisoners for their ministry to us. If you want to donate to the Taft out crew, I’ll have my brother link to the church website from my blog. I think the church would be really surprised by that.
My youngest son turned 2 in mid-December as well. This day did not bother me as much as the day when my oldest son turned 5 back in Sept. I don’t think my younger son quite knows what his birthday is so it doesn’t bother me as much to not be there for it. I’m sure that when he turns 3 in another year, it will be harder, but by then I will be close to release and won’t have to miss his 4th birthday. I will also be around for my oldest son’s 7th birthday, and that will help with missing the coming birthdays this year.
All in all, for this quarterly update, I’m glad that 2007 is behind me.
Jeff
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Typical Day II (#32)
Here is a blog that I forgot to post. It's a bit old, but this was what Jeff's day was like up unitl about 2 months ago. Now he is on an out crew and works at a church cleaning up the place. It's about an 8 hour job every weekday. Jeff says the work is somewhat redundant, but at least he feels like a normal person getting out of the compound and into the town. I have a quarterly update from Jeff coming soon as well. Now on to the blog.
I wrote a entry a while back about a typical day. I didn’t complete that blog because it was getting long. I believe I left off at about the time lunch ended. (My brother’s day has since changed dramatically. He is now on an out crew, where he goes to a church and cleans up the place, such as mopping, moving chairs for events, cleaning bathrooms, etc. He has written about this, I just haven’t entered it on the blog yet). Most of the days are filled with your work assignment (at this time my brother was handing out recreational equipment). I’m fortunate that I work in the mornings. Technically, I work from 8 am to 2 pm, but I’m only at my job from 6:15 – 8:15 am. Some guys have to go back to work at noon, when they finish lunch. I don’t have to do that. So, I have from noon to 4 pm for free time. That sounds nice, but prison is pretty boring. This is the hardest time for me to fill. One reason for this is that 5 months out of the year it’s too hot outside to do much exercise. Some guys really like the heat. I’m not one of them. (When I visited in July, as some of the readers may recall, the temperature was 111 degrees. It wasn’t pleasant. – Scott). So, during this time, I try to write a letter or do a craft project. After a while, writing hurts my hand, so I try to mix in some reading and study. I read my advertising and marketing textbooks, and sometimes a novel or a magazine. I have to digress here about magazines. It is fascinating the part magazines play in prison.
One of the most interesting things about prison culture is the way magazines get shared (a little like comics, but I’m a bit more protective of comics). We have three trash cans at the front of our dorm. When someone finishes a magazine or newspaper they leave it on the garbage can. I glance through tons of magazines here mainly to find stuff I can use to make a craft for my wife of kids. I had noticed that the address labels on the magazines were torn off. I asked someone why they did that, I thought it was because they didn’t want others to know who was subscribing to what magazines. The reason is far more interesting. You are not allowed to have another inmates property in your cube. You will get a disciplinary notice if you do. So, the inmates tear their names off of the magazines so that if a guard sees you with a magazine, they cannot determine ownership.
I have also seen some crazy magazines (adult magazines are not allowed, by the way). One of my favorite odd titles was not for its content, but for its title was “Trailer Life.” I couldn’t wait to read about trailer park living. Well, it was about RV’s, and I still can’t believe that there is a magazine for that, much less what I thought it would be. There was another one about log homes, the whole thing was about that. I’ve even seen a magazine about fashion. Although, for pure selection, your local Borders or Barnes and Noble have a greater variety. Although I have read magazines called “Star Wars Insider” and “Toy Faire.” Excellent stuff.
After reading and writing for a few hours, I can get through to 4 pm. At 4pm they do mail call. Mail call is simply passing out the mail. But some guards make even this simple task painful. They will insist on butchering names and only issuing mail to the name on the mail. It’s far more efficient to have the inmates grab it and pass it out to their bunkie or friends. They know where they are during the day, whereas the guards do not. One time I had to show my ID card to get my mail. After mail call, we have a count. I’m usually reading a newspaper or my mail up to and through the count. There are only two newspapers that arrive daily, the USA Today, and the Wall St. Journal. I get the USA Today, and I trade that for the Wall St. Journal. This way, I get both papers.
Now it’s dinner time, around 4:30. We have a five week rotation for food. The lunches are usually better than the dinners. With the new management group that took over in mid-August, the dinner fare now comes with liver. We get liver twice over the 5 weeks. In compensation for that, we get pizza twice over the 5 weeks as well. All in all, the food is okay. It get repetitive, but I don’t mind it. Except for the liver. (Jeff now eats while out on work crew. He gets more normal meals, such as Chinese food, pizza from a local place, and sometimes even a hamburger and fries. He says this is the best thing about work crew, normal outside food.)
After dinner is another block of free time. The prison gives us about 15 minutes to eat, so we finish dinner before 5 pm. The evenings, however, have more activities for the inmates because the inmates are done with their jobs. Usually there is a softball, soccer, or basketball game. Softball appears to be the most popular sport here. I watch it occasionally if a friend is playing. More often than not I walk the track after dinner. Most of the bible studies are in the evenings as well. Lights go out at about 10:15 pm. You can still go to the tv rooms and watch tv most of the night. However, the “yard” meaning the library, and indoor and outdoor recreation areas close at 9:15 pm. At this point you are locked in your dorm until about 6 am.
So, what do I do to entertain myself. I’ve probably discussed most of the activities before, but here are a few things I probably haven’t mentioned. Friday night is movie night. This didn’t mean much to me when I first arrived because most of the DVD releases in the summer aren’t very good (see previous blogs about the tv rooms and movies - Scott). The Fall brings with it the summer new movie releases that are now on DVD. So, in October and November, we had some decent movies. So, when these two times a year (Fall and Spring (after the Christmas releases) movie night becomes more of an event.
Friday mornings are the weekly inspections. This doesn’t involve me much, but it has an impact on me. Basically, all I do clean (mop and sweep) my cube for the inspection. However, if we win (this is based on overall cleanliness of the dorm compared to other dorms) three things happen. The main one is that the entire dorm gets 1 soda and a bag of popcorn each. We also get to eat first. Lastly, the order in which you finish determines which day you shop. It’s nice to go to the commissary with it is fully stocked.
We got to shop one day a week. This is not like your grocery store or Target. It’s like going to 7-11, but with only 1 aisle to shop from. I can only buy 4 types of candy bars and 3 types of soda. This is considered a very good commissary from some guys who have been around. I really like Dr. Pepper, but I can’t buy that here. Maybe that’s a good thing. They don’t sell tartar control toothpaste either. It’s strange dealing with a limited supply of stuff. Maybe this is what communist Russia felt like. Nevertheless, shopping is a highlight of the week for most of the guys. It allows them to buy stuff to cook in the dorms (Some guys never go to the cafeteria to eat). I don’t place as high a value on shopping, but it is a nice distraction.
The athletic leagues are a significant way to consume time as well. I have greatly enjoyed playing semi-competitive soccer again. It takes your mind off of the routine here. That’s the main thing here. The routine will get you through the time, but the distractions keep you sane during the routines.
Jeff
I wrote a entry a while back about a typical day. I didn’t complete that blog because it was getting long. I believe I left off at about the time lunch ended. (My brother’s day has since changed dramatically. He is now on an out crew, where he goes to a church and cleans up the place, such as mopping, moving chairs for events, cleaning bathrooms, etc. He has written about this, I just haven’t entered it on the blog yet). Most of the days are filled with your work assignment (at this time my brother was handing out recreational equipment). I’m fortunate that I work in the mornings. Technically, I work from 8 am to 2 pm, but I’m only at my job from 6:15 – 8:15 am. Some guys have to go back to work at noon, when they finish lunch. I don’t have to do that. So, I have from noon to 4 pm for free time. That sounds nice, but prison is pretty boring. This is the hardest time for me to fill. One reason for this is that 5 months out of the year it’s too hot outside to do much exercise. Some guys really like the heat. I’m not one of them. (When I visited in July, as some of the readers may recall, the temperature was 111 degrees. It wasn’t pleasant. – Scott). So, during this time, I try to write a letter or do a craft project. After a while, writing hurts my hand, so I try to mix in some reading and study. I read my advertising and marketing textbooks, and sometimes a novel or a magazine. I have to digress here about magazines. It is fascinating the part magazines play in prison.
One of the most interesting things about prison culture is the way magazines get shared (a little like comics, but I’m a bit more protective of comics). We have three trash cans at the front of our dorm. When someone finishes a magazine or newspaper they leave it on the garbage can. I glance through tons of magazines here mainly to find stuff I can use to make a craft for my wife of kids. I had noticed that the address labels on the magazines were torn off. I asked someone why they did that, I thought it was because they didn’t want others to know who was subscribing to what magazines. The reason is far more interesting. You are not allowed to have another inmates property in your cube. You will get a disciplinary notice if you do. So, the inmates tear their names off of the magazines so that if a guard sees you with a magazine, they cannot determine ownership.
I have also seen some crazy magazines (adult magazines are not allowed, by the way). One of my favorite odd titles was not for its content, but for its title was “Trailer Life.” I couldn’t wait to read about trailer park living. Well, it was about RV’s, and I still can’t believe that there is a magazine for that, much less what I thought it would be. There was another one about log homes, the whole thing was about that. I’ve even seen a magazine about fashion. Although, for pure selection, your local Borders or Barnes and Noble have a greater variety. Although I have read magazines called “Star Wars Insider” and “Toy Faire.” Excellent stuff.
After reading and writing for a few hours, I can get through to 4 pm. At 4pm they do mail call. Mail call is simply passing out the mail. But some guards make even this simple task painful. They will insist on butchering names and only issuing mail to the name on the mail. It’s far more efficient to have the inmates grab it and pass it out to their bunkie or friends. They know where they are during the day, whereas the guards do not. One time I had to show my ID card to get my mail. After mail call, we have a count. I’m usually reading a newspaper or my mail up to and through the count. There are only two newspapers that arrive daily, the USA Today, and the Wall St. Journal. I get the USA Today, and I trade that for the Wall St. Journal. This way, I get both papers.
Now it’s dinner time, around 4:30. We have a five week rotation for food. The lunches are usually better than the dinners. With the new management group that took over in mid-August, the dinner fare now comes with liver. We get liver twice over the 5 weeks. In compensation for that, we get pizza twice over the 5 weeks as well. All in all, the food is okay. It get repetitive, but I don’t mind it. Except for the liver. (Jeff now eats while out on work crew. He gets more normal meals, such as Chinese food, pizza from a local place, and sometimes even a hamburger and fries. He says this is the best thing about work crew, normal outside food.)
After dinner is another block of free time. The prison gives us about 15 minutes to eat, so we finish dinner before 5 pm. The evenings, however, have more activities for the inmates because the inmates are done with their jobs. Usually there is a softball, soccer, or basketball game. Softball appears to be the most popular sport here. I watch it occasionally if a friend is playing. More often than not I walk the track after dinner. Most of the bible studies are in the evenings as well. Lights go out at about 10:15 pm. You can still go to the tv rooms and watch tv most of the night. However, the “yard” meaning the library, and indoor and outdoor recreation areas close at 9:15 pm. At this point you are locked in your dorm until about 6 am.
So, what do I do to entertain myself. I’ve probably discussed most of the activities before, but here are a few things I probably haven’t mentioned. Friday night is movie night. This didn’t mean much to me when I first arrived because most of the DVD releases in the summer aren’t very good (see previous blogs about the tv rooms and movies - Scott). The Fall brings with it the summer new movie releases that are now on DVD. So, in October and November, we had some decent movies. So, when these two times a year (Fall and Spring (after the Christmas releases) movie night becomes more of an event.
Friday mornings are the weekly inspections. This doesn’t involve me much, but it has an impact on me. Basically, all I do clean (mop and sweep) my cube for the inspection. However, if we win (this is based on overall cleanliness of the dorm compared to other dorms) three things happen. The main one is that the entire dorm gets 1 soda and a bag of popcorn each. We also get to eat first. Lastly, the order in which you finish determines which day you shop. It’s nice to go to the commissary with it is fully stocked.
We got to shop one day a week. This is not like your grocery store or Target. It’s like going to 7-11, but with only 1 aisle to shop from. I can only buy 4 types of candy bars and 3 types of soda. This is considered a very good commissary from some guys who have been around. I really like Dr. Pepper, but I can’t buy that here. Maybe that’s a good thing. They don’t sell tartar control toothpaste either. It’s strange dealing with a limited supply of stuff. Maybe this is what communist Russia felt like. Nevertheless, shopping is a highlight of the week for most of the guys. It allows them to buy stuff to cook in the dorms (Some guys never go to the cafeteria to eat). I don’t place as high a value on shopping, but it is a nice distraction.
The athletic leagues are a significant way to consume time as well. I have greatly enjoyed playing semi-competitive soccer again. It takes your mind off of the routine here. That’s the main thing here. The routine will get you through the time, but the distractions keep you sane during the routines.
Jeff
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