Reading Voracity Has Waned

Coming out of the dining hall, I passed a sergeant while carrying my vegetarian lunch (aka cheese sandwich) and this sergeant called out to me to come over to him. He noticed my clear plastic bag was different from everyone else’s and asked me rather harshly, “What you got there?” while pointing to the plastic lunch bag.

I politely replied, “It is the vegetarian lunch.”

At my response, he seemed to soften up and said, “Oh, thank you, sir.” I then went on my way back to the dorm. I guess the sergeant wanted to ensure I wasn’t getting something I wasn’t supposed to get. I have noticed that certain sergeants like to push the inmate’s buttons, but I don’t fall for this trick. There are times when I have to bite down hard on my tongue but I treat them with respect and kindness.

I saw an advertisement in the newspaper attempting to recruit people to become correction officers for the CDC. The title of the advertisement was “Starting Salary $73,000” and as I read further, I discovered the only requirement for this position was a high school diploma or equivalent. I’m not going to get into a discussion of pay for the CO’s because obviously someone in the state of California is willing to pay these salaries. It is truly sad that teachers with advanced degrees start at salaries which are half of this or less.

Yesterday was beautiful with clear skies and temperatures in the low 70’s. Unfortunately, I couldn’t’ take advantage of the beautiful weather right away as I had to wait my turn at the “store”. The process goes by the last two digits of the CDC number and as you know mine is 91 so I am usually last to get called. Every other month the CO’s are supposed to reverse the numbers which was the case this week. As the CO was calling, he skipped my name and number completely. I approached him and asked why. He told me he called my name earlier in the week. This certainly could have been the case, but I was in the firefighting training class and couldn’t attend the store. I told him this and he replied, “Well, that is on you.” This was one of the times I really had to bite down hard on my tongue to keep it in place. First of all, I didn’t quite understand his comment and secondly, I couldn’t believe he said this.

My only response was, “Excuse me?” I’m not sure if he heard me because he told me he would see if he would get to me and dismissed me from the area of the store window. I went back to where everyone was waiting and tried to cool down. After about 5 minutes he called my name and I handed him my store list. He was allowing me to go to the store. I waited another 30 minutes for my order to be processed which came out to $77.00 which was surprising, but $12.00 belonged to my friend and I bought some items for my Bunkie and other inmates I am friendly with.

I was able to get into the shower before count time. I actually took a one minute shower, I think I used soap and shampoo! I was in and out in no time and didn’t have to worry about taking a shower in the evening. Incidentally, the dorm mate who got in the shower after me had to get out right in the middle because count time had arrived. Maybe my timing is getting better?

My dorm mates went off to the dining hall for dinner while I stayed behind. I swear they were gone 5 minutes – it seemed anyway – they were actually gone for 15 minutes - I was still eating my dinner when they came back. It certainly is peaceful when they are gone and the decibel rate increases when they come back. Anyhow, I ate the rice and beans while listening to the radio during dinner and all night long. I really didn’t feel much like reading and over the past week and a half my reading voracity has waned considerably. I stopped reading so I could study for FTP class and have not started back yet. I only have 2 more of my books left to read and maybe subconsciously, I am conserving these for a later time. Whatever the case, I passed the time listening to the radio and reading a local newspaper. The evening passed quickly and bedtime came at the usual 10:00 pm.

This being a Saturday, my dorm mates and I had to make special preparations for hanging the clothes. I didn’t want my clothesline to be cut down in the middle of the night which happened over the past few Saturdays. I made sure I was completely visible with no clothes in the way. They were still damp but I was able to hang them on the front and the rear of the bunk which provides no obstructions. We were ready for the CO. Amazingly, there weren’t any middle of the night episodes of cutting down the clotheslines. I did have the CO walk through and felt the light of the flashlight as it shined on my face in the middle of the night but all was relatively calm.

I don’t understand why many of my dorm mates always seem to ask what is for breakfast on Sunday mornings. The breakfast is ALWAYS the same – the Grand slam! Again this morning someone asked and I couldn’t contain myself but fortunately I wasn’t too sarcastic with my response. I really do have to concentrate on thinking before speaking because I could get myself into trouble with my smart mouth.

I had to wait for the morning yard unlock which arrived late because the CO’s were searching another dorm. They must have found something – probably pruno – because I noticed the CO carrying out their television set. Losing the TV (literally) is punishment for the entire dorm when a contraband substance is found. I believe the first offense is losing the television for one week and the second offense is losing it for 30 days. I don’t know what the third offense would be since none of the dorms have achieved this yet. Finally, after the search the morning yard unlock arrived and I went outside for a 12.3 mile run!