Full Dorm

The phone call with my mother cut off and once again I felt a little frustrated with the telephone system. Obviously there is nothing I can do about it so I just shook my head and walked around the track. The yard was closing and it was time to go back to the dorm. When I walked in, I noticed that every bunk is filled with an inmate. All 36 of the bunks are filled and it is a full dorm. I believe it is the first time since my arrival here back in October that the dorm has been full. It never seemed to fall below 4 bunks unoccupied and now there aren’t any unoccupied bunks. It appears there has been an influx of inmates over the past 2 weeks. I’m not sure what is going on because of instead of relieving the overcrowding situation which has been mandated by a Federal Judge, this institution is doing the exact opposite. It appears to be more crowded here than it has ever been. Many of the inmates who reside in other dorms also report that their dorms are full. I’m not sure if this will have any affect on my transfer to fire camp such as speeding it up because space is needed here. There does appear to be a logjam somewhere in the prison system since there should be a fixed number of bunks available, yet more inmates keep arriving. I would be very interested in seeing the logistics which go into the shuffle of inmates as we make our way through the prison system.

One of the dilemmas of having a full dorm is the shower. I noticed there were about 17 dorm mates waiting when I arrived back from my visit. I passed on going to dinner for the black eyed peas which have tasted like “dirt’ over the past few months.

The rest of the evening was filled with writing and thinking about the wonderful visit I had. I was asked a few times if I had a “good” visit. I don’t know how a visit couldn’t be good especially since I had 2 friends who went out their way just to visit me. Also, during this visit I noticed the other inmates in the visiting room holding newborn children, holding hands with their wives or girlfriends and others were sitting and chatting with family and friends. How could any of this be bad? Everyone of these inmates looked happy. Yes, it could get a little depressing when the visit is over because it is back to the reality of prison. Thankfully, I was so happy from the visit I focused on the positive well after the visit was finished!

Back at the dorm, I was watching two of my dorm mates play chess on my neighbor’s bunk. I learned to play from my grandfather when I was around 8 years old. I remember playing a great deal when I was younger but it has well been over 25 years since I played. Even though my neighbor asked me to play, my recovery keeps me away from these games even without any wagering. I certainly wouldn’t mind teaching my son and daughter to play, but while I am here I will refrain from any game playing.

I was speaking to another inmate the other day. The neighbor sleeps 12 hours each day and somehow we got on the topic of sleeping. He did confess to sleeping this long as a way to get his “Half-time.” He must serve 80% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. My neighbor rationalized if he slept 50% of his time he would effectively be serving only 50% of his time while he was awake. It is a rationalization, but I thought this was somewhat creative and sad because I’m not sure how sleeping 50% of the time prepares him for the real world when he is released. I’m fairly certain he is not independently wealthy and will have to obtain a job on his release. Sleep is necessary but 12 hours daily can interfere with many things including a steady job. The other sad part is he is only in his late 20’s and has a lifetime ahead of him to look forward to, yet with this attitude, he will miss half of it because he will be asleep.

I was able to fall asleep quickly with a smile on my face thinking about the wonderful day. However, my sleep was disturbed as the “Clothesline Police” reared their ugly heads. It has been a few weeks since they have shown up, but last night they were back. Fortunately, for me I had nothing hanging from my clotheslines so my bunk went undisturbed. Unfortunately, some of my dorm mates weren’t so lucky as their clotheslines were cut down and clothes thrown all over the floor. This was a big production as the CO’s made their presence known to everyone in the dorm.

With the dorm being full, it seems we have acquired some early risers because I am not the first person up in the morning anymore. Two of the new dorm mates got out of their bunks and made their way into the television area. Now if these new dorm mates continue waking up early there is no way I will over sleep because as soon as there is movement in the dorm, I wake up.

After breakfast, I stopped for my vegetarian lunch and was asked by the CO if I had the “vegetarian card”. I only received a response because I put in a request. I gave up on the CO who I had asked 3 weeks ago. The answer I received is exactly what I thought it would be – the Medical Department does not issue cards for vegetarians and the Chrono (authorization slip) is sufficient. Only the inmates who have religious reasons for being a vegetarian are issued the “Vegetarian Cards” by the prison chaplain. I explained this to the CO who looked at me rather strange when I was telling him this information but did say “okay” and I was the cheese lunch. I’m sure this won’t be the last of the “Vegetarian Card” issue so I am now prepared.