Day Off

I decided to break-up the routine by taking today off from the kitchen. It was a good day because the oven had only two items - triangle tater-tots and ham slices. Both are very easy to prepare because they go directly from the oven to the front line. I know the guys could handle this and I really needed a whole day of rest. Of course I instinctively woke up at 3:45am but went back to sleep until 6:30am. At this time the inmates were retrieving the clothes we exchanged on Thursday. Every week on Tuesday and Thursdays we exchange clothes. On Tuesdays it is sheets and pillowcases and on Thursdays it is clothing: shirts, pants, tee shirts, boxers, socks, and towels. It is a one for one exchange which means no matter how many pants are turned in we are getting back one pair. I have no idea as to why it is this way but it just is.

We usually get the clothes back one day later on Fridays but they were delayed and we got them back this morning. Of course there seems to be no shortage of drama and this morning was no exception. The inmates handing out the clothes were having a very hard time because somehow they ran out of clothing. This means some inmates did not get any clothes back. I was fortunate and received my whole compliment of clothing, whereas others received nothing. Just because these inmates did not receive their clothes back they still have clothes to wear. Remember it is a one for one exchange and many inmates (me included) have more than their initial allotment. Also, everyone seems to lend out clean clothing to those inmates in need.

With all this stated it still doesn’t lessen the drama which I am starting to find very comical (internally, I would never show this externally because some inmates may take offense). There were a few inmates in an uproar but again cooler heads prevailed. There was also another incident where someone who was supposed to help with the clothing exchange wasn’t awakened and because of this he felt disrespected. As it turns out my seating assignment at breakfast had me sit next to this person. It was fascinating to listen to his comments; I just nodded as he spoke.

It is apparent these things I view as petty are very important to others. It is essential I keep my opinions to myself for fear of disrespecting anyone. Also, there appears to be two factions here in this dormitory. One faction is made up of repeat offenders who want to honor the “prison code”. The other faction is made up of older inmates who may or may not be repeat offenders that “respect” the prison code but want to instill common sense into any situation. Thankfully this latter faction is winning out which maybe why this 35 years and older program has been incident free for two years since its inception.

It felt weird sitting in the chow hall for breakfast. The last time I did this was over 3 weeks ago but I needed a day of no kitchen. My routine has been very good but I needed a break. In fact, I think from now on I will take Sundays off as long as the menu stays the same. The menu has been very predictable on Sundays with the “Grand Slam” breakfast and in addition to a much-needed rest, it is one less day to have to spend around the fried eggs!

After breakfast I returned to my bunk and went back to sleep amongst the drama. I was able to get a good 2 hour nap and when I woke up the kitchen crew was returning. I spoke with one of my fellow kitchen workers who knew I was taking off. He told me I wasn’t allowed to take any more days off because he was working the ovens by himself. Of course, he was being sarcastic about this, but he did have to work the ovens by himself. I have always thought the lesser people working the ovens the better so in my opinion he was very fortunate. All he had to do was take the items out of the ovens and put them in the warmers. The only downside is that he had to clean by himself. I did pick a good day to take off and this will be part of my new routine.

After speaking with this inmate, it was my turn to get a haircut. There is an older gentleman/inmate (61 years old) who is a barber on the outside and he cuts all the whites and Mexican’s hair (remember the racism). As it turns out he is getting transferred tomorrow so I decided to get my haircut. Unfortunately, he does not have access to scissors only electric clippers. My hair does much better with scissors but there really aren’t any other options, also I didn’t want to take a chance on some of the other inmates who cut (it’s more of a buzz than a cut) hair. I wanted the trained professional?? He did an adequate job cutting my hair but sometimes you get what you pay for and it cost me one soup (20 cents). I didn’t have him do anything drastic to my hair, it is just shorter. The good thing about my hair and getting a bad hair cut is my hair will grow back, thankfully. No matter how bad the hair cut, it is only temporary as my current situation.

You maybe wondering why a 61 year old barber is in a place like this; one word DRUGS. He is addicted to crack cocaine and has had multiple offenses; he is also serving a four year term and gets out in June of 2008. No matter the addiction the consequences are horrifying and can affect anyone regardless of age.

I put my writing skills to good use this afternoon. I helped a fellow inmate write a letter to the District Attorney’s office in regard to his case. This inmate speaks very little English and I had to get someone to interpret while I was speaking to him. The letter was a matter that his attorney should have handled but unfortunately the attorney did not. I was happy to write the letter but based on the information I read it appears this inmate will have to forfeit a significant (to him and his wife) amount of money back to this state based on a communication error. I tried to explain that the letter may not help and please keep his expectations low. Sometimes no matter the situation, it is hard to keep low expectations when money is involved no matter the amount.

I was able to read my first newspaper since I have been here at the Reception Center. The newspaper was from yesterday (Saturday 9/23) and it was a local (Bakersfield, CA) newspaper but having any news was very welcomed. I couldn’t relate much to the local news section but having a newspaper is one of these little things I have taken for granted. There are so many things I have taken for granted which I have found that I will never do again.