Banana Obtained

No one showed up for yesterday afternoon’s PFT class which is occurring more than ever. Yesterday the bottom tier – the one I reside in – had yard and notoriously the bottom tier has always had poor showings for this class. One of the reasons for the poor showing has been that the inmates who reside (not all) have a medical need. Some of the inmates are not allowed to climb stairs or climb up into a top bunk. I’m not sure of the percentage but they all reside in the bottom tier as required by the American Disabilities Act. A few years ago the California Prison System was sued because they were not in compliance with the ADA. The Prison system thought they were exempt from this Act so an inmate took then to court and won. Now the Prison system must comply with the ADA or face heavy fines from the Federal Government. Due to the medical needs of certain inmates the pool of physically able inmates who can participate in the PFT and the PFT Plus Class is limited especially for the bottom tier. I suspect no one showed up yesterday because of the new coach. However, the inmates should participate in the PFT Plus Class because it will help them in so many ways. With the new coach, I’m not sure how long these classes will be in existence with such poor show ups.

I wrote a few people regarding my transfer to fire camp. I asked the regular CO if he could call over to the fire camp transfer office to see if I was indeed dedicated to the fire camp in Southern California. He told me every time he has called over there no one answers so he gave me the names of the captains in charge and suggested I write them which is what I did. I filled out a “request for transfer” slip. I have had mixed results with internal correspondence in the past. Some officials respond quickly and others never respond. I am still awaiting a response about all the mail I need to ship and it has been over 2 weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to send out all my mail and not have to take it to fire camp. I am still amazed when I look at the laundry bag filled with all of the mail I have received in the last 8 months. One of the inmates said to me, “I won’t get that much mail in the whole 5 years I will be here!” I am truly blessed.

Last night I was catching up on current events and I wonder if President Bush is counting down his days in the White House as I am counting down my days when I am with my family? I’m not sure if the term beleaguered is accurate in describing the events surrounding President Bush but it seems he is having a tough go is to say the least. I finished listening to the newscast and it was time to turn in for the evening. I didn’t have any dreams that I remembered and I did wake up a few times during the night especially when the flashlight came through.

At breakfast, once I saw the banana on my tray, I thought long and hard (I really have nothing to think about!) about how I could get it out of the dining hall since the “Fruit Nazi” is not stationed there. I didn’t know too much about the CO who was standing at the exit. Some of them don’t check for fruit and others are very thorough. I had my hat and thought about placing the banana in it but that didn’t work yesterday as it was an easy target for the Fruit Nazi. I could have stuffed the banana down my shirt, but I really had my back to the CO at the other door and I was worried someone would see me. I decided to use my hat which I placed on the table over the banana which I then moved to my lap in one motion. As the hat and banana sat on my lap, I very discreetly placed the banana in the waistband of my sweatpants and made sure my sweatshirt covered it. This sounds better than having a banana down my pants! As I was walking toward the door, I saw the CO checking inmates as they departed the dining hall. I thought I was going to get caught and thought of just throwing the banana out. I decided to take a chance and walked up to the CO where I received my lunch and walked out the door without having been checked. I successfully obtained the banana! Score one for me!! I know this probably sounds foolish but this is a by-product of my environment. In order for me to eat fruit either I have it for breakfast or try to take it out of the dining hall and eat it when I want to. This is the only fruit I receive each and everyday. There is a diabetic in my dorm who receives an evening snack of an apple, 2 peanut butter packets, and a bag of cheese nips. He sells this for one soup and I have bought them before, but I only eat one apple and peanut butter while giving away the cheese nips. Also, sometimes the apples are not so good. Of course, all of this is coming to an end very soon as the conditions at fire camp are much better.

Speaking of conditions here at SCC, if the current water usage continues, we will have to implement emergency procedures. Part of these is turning off the toilets. Yes, that is correct, we will no longer be able to use the toilets. Supposedly, the prison will bring in port-o-potties and will line the yard with them. Of course we will need an unlock to use these which will supposedly happen every hour on the hour. I sure hope I am long gone before this happens.