Oranges

As I mentioned earlier, the search of my dorm did not uncover any significant items; however, searches of other dorms turned up batches of pruno. Thankfully, my dorm has only produced one batch during the Christmas Holiday week but no other. There were some items in the dorm which went undetected and quite frankly I am surprised they weren’t’ found. I actually would have been happy if they were because they do create a nuisance – at least to me. However, they were not found so I just need to live with it. When the CO’s were doing their search yesterday in another dorm, they removed one of the vents to find a large plastic bag. They opened the bag only to find a note which read “HA HA”. Thankfully the CO’s had a good sense of humor and this story ran like wildfire throughout the yard yesterday.

Prior to dinner there was a knock at the window and one of my dorm mates told me I had a “telephone call”. A telephone call is when another inmate comes to the window or dorm and wants to talk to someone inside the dorm. When I got to the window I saw it was the inmate who I had spoken to about getting into the firefighting training class. As soon as I got there he handed me the “ducat” which informed me I was officially going to start the “Firefighter Training Class” today. I thanked the inmate. It was official and I didn’t do anything underhanded to get into the class. This was great because now I am well on my way to getting back with my family as soon as possible. As an aside – this inmate who handed me the ducat and who seems to have been shadowing me over these past two weeks had no ill feelings toward me since I cancelled the initial deal. However, based on the conversations I had with him over the past two days I have a feeling he was fishing for a “tip” because his words weren’t exactly genuine. I think he was hoping I would give him something for all his “hard work”. I may give him a few soups but my feeling is I was getting into the class no matter what he said or did. No matter I will keep the peace because I don’t want to create any unnecessary problems.

I had a smile on my face all afternoon and evening as I was very excited to start the training program. As I mentioned previously, I didn’t go to dinner because as the door opened I wasn’t dressed in my blues and didn’t want to rush.

During evening yard, I made my way over to the pill call line. The line kept getting longer and longer and I knew I would be line until the yard closed. When I reached the front I presented my ID card and the Medical Technician Assistant told me the protein drinks had been cancelled for me by the Chief Medical Officer. According to her paperwork, the drinks were cancelled yesterday. This was peculiar because I was able to receive them yesterday yet the paperwork stated that I did not receive any. This is also suspicious because as I reported previously, the CO who gave me the drinks yesterday wrote my name down on a white piece of paper, checked a box on the paper, and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. Apparently, he took it on his own to cancel not only my protein drinks but the drinks of another Instructor – yet an additional Instructor is still receiving his protein drinks. It is not the first time this has happened because when I first started receiving the drinks back in December, the lead Instructor had his drinks taken away by the same CO. When I spoke with the doctor, the drinks were quickly reinstated.
I was annoyed by the way they were cancelled. Part of me wants to do something about this yet there is another part of me that says to keep quiet. Technically, I am no longer an instructor because I have been assigned to the training program so the privilege of receiving the drinks could be lost. However, when the doctor prescribed them, he spoke of my duties as an Instructor and also my vegetarian diet. I do realize this is a small issue and I should let it go but I am having a difficult time doing this. There are times to live and let live but there are other times to take action. I am just not sure which category this current situation falls into.

This morning I received my new clothing for the firefighting training Program which is commonly referred to as “Oranges”. This nickname is quite appropriate because the long sleeve shirt and pants are both orange in color. Also, I was given a brand new pair of hiking boots replacing the work boots I was given upon my arrival almost 4 months ago. Normally, shoes, boots, or sneakers have a hard time adjusting to my high arched foot but these boots do feel good. I am sure I will develop blisters as I continue to wear them but the initial wear is fine. The pants I received have a 34 waistline because this is the smallest size they have in stock. Thankfully, I was given a belt or the pants would fall right off. Also the belt is adjustable and please believe me that I need all the “adjusts” from the belt in order to make the pants fit properly. I was fully dressed in the “Oranges” with the new hiking boots looking like a long thin PUMPKIN! I was ready to go to class but I will probably have to wait a few more days. Right now the classrooms are full and I have to wait for a classroom to clear.

This journey has been a whole new world for me and now I get to experience something I never thought I would in the firefighting of wildfires and I am very excited. I also never thought I would experience prison; however, I believe I continue to make the best of my journey and will continue to be a better person.