Chicken

I was able to watch two baseball playoff games which really is a treat in a place like this. The first game was between the Yankees and the Tigers. My Dad’s beloved Yankees succumbed to the Tigers and I am guessing that “heads” will start to roll in the Yankees organization. The second game was between my beloved Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over the past 20 years of denying my compulsive gambling addiction, sporting events became my “fix” and I was no longer a fan. There was one notable exception to this which was the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets. Although I was gambling on just about every sporting event at this time, I did not make one bet on the World Series.

Some of you might ask why. Let me see if I can explain this properly~ During this Series, I did not want to ruin the purity of the games. This may have been my one moment of clarity during a very dark period; however, when the Series was over, I came back wagering with a vengeance because I had no program of recovery. Even though my beloved Mets lost to the Yankees in five games, I enjoyed each game as a fan rather than a bettor. I had not done this before that World Series nor did I do it after until today.

In the first year of my recovery, I focused on that and stayed away from sporting events for obvious reasons. I did watch the NCAA College Basketball Championship game and the Super Bowl during this period – with no wagering – but nothing else. In my second year of recovery, I have started to follow my baseball team – the New York Mets. Fortunately, they have played very well this year and I was looking forward to the playoffs. Tonight for the first time in over 19 months of recovery, I watched an entire game of baseball without betting on it. It was fine because I was rooting for the Mets as a fan and had no financial involvement on the game at all. It was also quite fascinating because of the close proximity to Los Angeles. Many of the inmates here are Dodger fans. In fact, I would say that 98% are Dodger fans and 2% are Met fans!

I watched the Dodger fans with interest because they were very loud and enthusiastic. I did not hoot and holler as these inmates did, I just watched the game with a smile on my face. In the past, I usually did not go crazy even when I was gambling at to whether my team won or lost. This was mainly because no one was supposed to know that I was gambling and I thought of myself as a “professional” when it came to sports betting. “Professionals” show no emotions on the outside while internally I was a mess. Tonight was fun watching the game because the Mets won and everyone in here was a bit distraught when the Dodgers lost. I just sat there and while the game was on had a very nice conversation with another inmate who knew I was a Mets fan. Incidentally he was the one who offered the wager of the one push-up on the Mets/Dodgers series. The other inmate was unlike the other Dodger fans because he did not get emotionally involved in the game. He sat there stoically as the Mets took the lead for good and said, “You got us on this one!”

It truly is hard to explain how watching an inconsequential baseball game could actually make me feel good but it did. It made me feel better because my brain stopped thinking for three hours and put me in a very excellent place. Normally, I stay in my bunk area after dinner and write but tonight I needed a diversion and it goes back to the “every little thing helps” category. It is all about making the days go by with a positive purpose. I am not sure how watching this game is a positive but the simple fact of me not wagering on the game and being a “fan” is a positive in my book. It was a very nice evening and even though the Yankees screwed up a chance at another “Subway Series”, I can still be a Mets fan for the next series and hopefully my brain will stay on hold for these games.

I decided to work today because Sundays are the easiest day of the week for the ovens. I thought I was short changing myself by taking Sundays off when the day is so easy. I may or may not take a day off during the week depending on the menu which I have yet to see. Sundays are always tater-tots and sausage links for the ovens which create no fuss or mess when preparing. In the category of what a difference a day makes and what a difference the regular kitchen supervisor makes. As we all entered the kitchen this morning we were all helping to prepare the tater-tots on cookie sheets, the kitchen supervisor told one of the inmates to arrange all of them in a straight row standing on edge. By the way, these are triangle shaped tater-tots. I overheard the supervisor say this and went over to him with a suggestion because I am such an expert (wink, wink, nod, nod). I have noticed in the past when we stand the tater-tots straight up that the outside edges cook faster than the centers. Sometimes the edges burn while the centers are still raw. If I made this suggestion yesterday to the kitchen supervisor, I would have been met with negative resistance. Today with the regular kitchen worker, I was met with a pathetic response. I was told, “Okay, that sounds like a very good idea and we will arrange them on an angle.” Thank goodness for positive people; it is certainly so much better than those negative people. When I heard his response, I said, “Thank you so very much” and walked away with a big smile.

Toward the end of the breakfast service while I was cleaning up my naivetivity got the best of me. One of the grill guys (today as always was fried egg day, yuk) found a tray of chicken which was left over from last night’s dinner service. I saw him put the chicken in the oven and didn’t think anything of it. I was just concerned that he didn’t burn it because then the cleaning of the oven may be more difficult so I just made a mental note. I went ahead with cleaning my areas and the ovens – all of them except one was turned off for cleaning. I didn’t think much about the chicken. It was finished and a few of them started eating it but a few pieces remained in the oven.

Now the kitchen was filled with the smell of chicken and one of the other inmates asked me about it. I told him there were a few pieces left in the oven. He said, “Oh thanks” and took two pieces out. Again, I didn’t think much of this either and went into the chow hall to eat my second breakfast which was “real” cheerios as opposed to the prison knock off ones which I have been eating for awhile. As I was eating breakfast, the oven guy came up (who by the way is of a different race) and asked if I told someone that it would be okay to have the chicken? I told him it wasn’t my decision who can or can’t have the chicken and no one asked me that question. He replied, “Okay” and off he went.

I thought this was very strange and my friend the “normal inmate” was with me eating breakfast who was also with me when I mentioned the chicken to the other inmate (who is a different race than both the oven cook and myself – do you see where I’m going with this?) The “normal inmate” backed me up and confirmed my answer. We both thought this was an odd question as we continued with breakfast. I finished and went back into the kitchen to continue cleaning up. As soon as I got there, I saw the inmate - who asked me where the chicken was - and he called me over. He asked if I put the chicken in the oven? I told him no but one of the grill guys did. (who is the same race as the oven inmate – is anyone getting this?) He said, “Oh” and that is where the conversation stopped.

Now the oven guy came over to me and explained that someone (of his race) didn’t get a piece of chicken because of the other inmate who took two pieces. He went on to add, “We don’t mind sharing with you after all of our people get their share.” My reply to him was that I had no idea and I just didn’t know. Then I went on to apologize which in retrospect was idiotic because I had nothing to apologize for, but I wanted to keep the piece – no, not the PIECE of chicken! He appeared fine with my explanation and frankly I could care less about who did or did not get a piece of chicken. However, in a place like this, it is very important all the “right” people get their share. I had no idea I was simply pointing out where the chicken was could possibly cause a race riot, but it almost did.


Thankfully, it did not happen as the other inmate and “Chicken Thief” went at it. One of the positives in this verbal sparring was the two of them are bunk neighbors and know each other fairly well. Next time there is chicken or anything else in the ovens that does not belong to me I will play stupid and keep my mouth shut. There are some strange rules in a place like this and I am learning some very strange lessons.