Don't Tell Paul

I decided to join my Bunkie in his workout inside the dorm. Inmates on the whole are very creative and since we don’t have any free weights, they make them out of sandbags from the horseshoe pit (yes, there is a horseshoe pit) and sometimes the weights are made up of water bags with a broom handle. I used these for my workout.

My Bunkie could literally be my son since he is 20 years younger than me. Essentially he is a good kid but has a messed up dysfunctional life. He spent most of his teenage years in the Youth Activities Center which is a prison for teenagers. Apparently, he didn’t learn any rehabilitation methods during his stay there, but he did learn how to be an adult criminal. I have spoken with a few inmates who are well versed on the YA System and they all agree it is a training ground for future inmates of the CDC. I do feel badly for my Bunkie because if he continues his ways he has many unfortunate years ahead of him behind bars. He too is going to fire camp but I fear this program may not help him because he views the freedoms of the program much differently than I do. These freedoms may not be a good thing for him but I hope and pray he gets his life straightened out. He has a lifetime of many wonderful things to enjoy yet he is on the wrong path. Hopefully, he finds the right path and starts enjoying the positive qualities life has to offer.

All the necessary hygiene and eating rituals were out of the way so I started on the writing ritual. I finished up and now it was time to study the wild land terminology and safety measures. I am most likely putting too much pressure on myself over these quizzes and memorizations. I am a fairly (okay somewhat) intelligent person with an above (not too far above average IQ) yet I am fretting about memorizing 18 sayings. My self-imposed pressure is not limited to me because it seems everyone in the class is the same way. Yesterday afternoon, for almost 2 hours, I spent memorizing the 18 WATCHOUT SITUATIONS. I got out my legal pad and started writing these over and over again. Since I still have a few more days, I need to relax and pass the test.

Three of my dorm mates came back from early dinner and one of them whispered something to another dorm mate. After they were done whispering, the one dorm mate said, “Don’t tell Paul – he’ll spoil it,” as he looked over to me.

I knew this had something to do with another early release rumor. I instantly said, “Don’t tell Paul what?” He smiled but wouldn’t tell me so I asked him again and he finally broke down. This is a good one – apparently, the vocations (trade schools at the prison) are closing down starting with welding this week. The rumor has it that they are closing because all of us are soon to be released. Me being the realist chimed in, “How does this have anything to do with the early releases, surely there is a plausible explanation.

As soon as I said this, they said, “Yes, you are probably right but we can dream can’t we?” Sure they can dream but lately it seems that if something out of the ordinary happens, it is because we are all going home soon. This gets very tiresome which is why I focus on my release date of next year. By the way, as it turns out the welding classes are closing down because the teacher is retiring and they cannot find a replacement. The answer to all questions is not early release!

The yard ended at night and it was back to the dorm where I studied for a few minutes before falling asleep. During the evening the “Clothesline Police” were back again for a return visit. At 2:00 am the CO ripped and I mean RIPPED – loudly – down the neighbor’s clothesline and all his clothes fell to the ground. I was in a dreamlike sleep when this happened but had enough sense to pull my clothing down so I was not next. The CO didn’t touch my clothesline because all my clothes were down. This was the second Saturday night in a row this has happened to all different dorm members. It is quite unnerving seeing a CO three feet away from my bunk in the middle of the night yanking down the clothesline with a vengeance. Once again, the inconsistencies are glaring because the clothes can be fine for six consecutive days, yet on the 7th day they are not. Oh well, it appears that the best course of action is to keep the clothes down on Saturday nights. This way there shouldn’t be any issues. I keep saying to myself, “This is only temporary and I will be back with my family soon enough.” Soon enough will be here before I know it.