Countdown

Even though I am finally departing the Reception Center in two days, I am still working in the kitchen until tomorrow. I could have easily stopped working and no one would have been the wiser. However, I wanted to continue my Program until the last day and it may sound crazy, but I do enjoy working in the kitchen. When I got the “wakeup” tap at 3:45 am, I could have rolled over and slept in, but this would have been irresponsible and I intend to honor my commitments. One of the new oven guys is a very nice person and I couldn’t leave him hanging. Incidentally, this person lives three miles from where I used to live in Southern Cal – it is a small criminal world. The other regular oven guy was transferred out of the dorm yesterday to the Substance Abuse Program and was no longer eligible to work. This would have left the new oven guy by himself and I couldn’t do that to him.

This morning, just as it was yesterday - after I received the news that I was being transferred this Friday - was a little different than it has been in the past. I felt a little weight lift off my shoulders and my mind has become a little clearer. The wait and concern over where I am going to next is finally over and I feel very good about that. With that said, there are more challenges when I get to the next destination. I have become very comfortable in the “old-guy” dorm and working the Program. Now I have to start all over again. I do know other inmates because another four were added on today and there are eight of us who will be on the bus. I don’t know if all of us will be separated or kept together. I understand there is an “old-guy” dorm in the next destination and if it is anything like this one, I certainly would like to be placed there. It would be fine to go directly to this dorm, but the likelihood of that happening is very slim.

The first week is classification week where I will classified as either having a gate pass (unrestricted access) or confined to the grounds (restricted access). Some prisons lock the new arriving prisoners down for this week until they receive their classification, but I don’t know how it works in Jamestown. I would imagine there must be some type of restrictions until classification is completed. I don’t know how soon I will be able to use a telephone but I do know it won’t take 10 weeks. Another slight concern of mine is the dormitory. I am hoping to be placed with the “Old Guys” and not the youngsters who act very differently. This is all part of adjusting to my third set of a new location on this journey. I won’t change my Program when I get to these new surroundings because it has been successful thus far. It does take time to adjust which I have plenty of, and I do look forward to my new surroundings in spite of my slight concerns.

This morning in the kitchen was very busy. I was working alongside my replacement and another inmate who was helping out. This other inmate has worked in the kitchen for quite sometime and has a very lackadaisical attitude. We did have three menu items which required all three of us to do our fair share and unfortunately only two of us did. This made the service more of a challenge, but the time went by extremely fast. Usually, I have time to eat, but this morning I barely ate the oatmeal before we ran out of it. We ran out of that and the creamed beef (which I did help to prepare for the first time and I did all I could not to gag.) I managed to mix the creamed beef without incident! We had enough to feed the inmates, but not enough leftovers to feed the kitchen staff. I tend to look forward to the oatmeal after the service is over. I guess I have expanded my stomach because by lunchtime I was starving. Usually, I do eat a big breakfast which was not the case this morning and I became hungry well before my normal time. I did have a tuna soup. Yes, this may sound disgusting and at first I was hesitant, but I mixed it with mustard and noodles and it actually tasted good – this is obviously my opinion. It is very surprising what some inmates mix in their soup: baloney, salami, cheese, sunflower seeds along with the mayonnaise and other assorted condiments. Some of these concoctions smell terrible and I always say no thank you when someone offers me a taste of their soup. I have found my own concoction and have been living on it for the past week.

My diet has become very routine and it is essentially the same everyday ~ hot cereal with a peanut packet in the morning followed by my tuna soup mixture for lunch followed by whatever vegetables are on the dinner menu followed by a peanut butter sandwich around 6:30 after dinner. I am surviving on this but it has gotten very old. I am looking forward to ordering the first package of “my food”. I am able to order one package every quarter up to 30 pounds from a sanctioned catalogue of the prison system. There are a variety of items and hopefully there will be some foods I can order such as protein bars and other assorted health foods. I also understand that when and if I get placed in a firecamp, the restrictions on packages are more lenient and maybe I’ll be able to receive a “care” package from my family. However, while I am housed at the Conservation Center I can only receive packages through catalogues.

I just finished shaving for the last time here. I don’t know what the razor/shaving situation will be like at Jamestown. I can only hope that it does involve shaving cream because shaving with soap as I have been doing for the past three months is not the most effective way. Also, the three cent razors will not be missed by me whatsoever.

I now have one evening and one more full day until I get on the bus at 3:00 am Friday. Soon after that I will be in a new setting and will be starting over again. I am making another leg of my journey which brings me closer to my family. In my new surroundings I will be able to receive visitors. However, it is a 7 hour trip from where my wonderful friends are. I know my wife and mom would like to visit which all depends on many variables ~ such as how long I will be here ~ if I get transferred sooner as opposed to later, it would make more sense to visit me at the actual fire camp. This should be more accessible than Jamestown because it will be somewhere in southern Cal. Time will render answers to all these questions and I am well on my way to moving through the process in a safe and strong manner.

I am so fortunate to be moving on this Friday because the faces of this dorm have changed dramatically in the past two weeks. My friend “the normal inmate” remains along with the a few others. I do hope he moves on next week because he is getting very frustrated and he only arrived at the reception center three days after me so he is certainly due to move on very soon. There have been others who came here after us who have moved on which is very exasperating for the psyche. I did ask my friend to write my wife and let me know where he was finally transferred. He is a good person who made a mistake; he is willing to do his time and now it is time for him to move on, also.

Yesterday, I lost my neighbor who was transferred to the main-line yard here at North Kern. In addition to being a reception center, this prison serves as a level one, three, and four prison. My neighbor is going to level one which is minimum security. I have written a little about him in the past because he is like the “normal inmate”. He was my workout partner and “protector”. He is of a different race than mine but in the prison code of ethics, this different race was the “right” race for me. We got along very well and he reminded me of someone who I worked very closely with in the past. Even though the two of them were different genders – their personalities were very similar.

Before retiring to bed, my neighbor and I would talk for a few minutes. He did like to pick on me in a playful way which I did not take offense to. It hasn’t been the same since he moved out. I gave him cookies and snacks in my lunch bag and he would share his vegetable in his extra dinner tray for me. He did teach me a great deal about prison life since he was a “veteran” – having served six different terms. He told me he was done with coming back to prison and he will not be stupid anymore. I asked him for his plan on not coming back and he let me in on his solid strategy. Hopefully, if he follows this, he will not come back to prison. I wished him well and gave him a hug as he departed. I do hope he serves his time (his release date is September 2007) and follows his plan so he can enjoy his nine children. He has been a very busy man because we are the same age and I only have two children. I also need to mention this neighbor is a clean freak and actually waxed the floor between our two bunks! He would sweep the floor five times a day and would get on my old Bunkie for having his clothes strewn around. I just stuffed all my clothes in my locker which was a terrible mess, but it was out of sight. If you would look at my neighbor, you wouldn’t think of him as a clean freak at all.

I have been very fortunate with all of my Bunkies and most of my neighbors. Adapting to each new surrounding has its challenges, but as long as I stay true to myself and continue staying safe and being strong, things WILL work out.