Shower Schedule

It was back to the prison and again the ride did not last nearly long enough. Once again it was back through the “Strip Shack” and as we finished Day 6 of the class I have noticed the wait times have decreased tremendously. This was my last chance to get to the store before having to potentially ruin my Saturday afternoon by waiting. As was the case again today my number was called before I got there and there was no way for me to go.

I decided to give my blistered ankles a rest yesterday afternoon. I figured the 5 mile hike was enough exercise for the day and went back to the dorm to “debunk” a very bad rumor I heard earlier in the day. This rumor came from one of my dorm mates who is not exactly credible and has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. The rumor had to do with the coach – the one who is going to help me get to the fire camp as quickly as possible – rumor has it that he was fired. This is potentially damaging news for the coach but I couldn’t help to think of myself. He was going to give me a recommendation to the fire camp in Southern California upon my completion of the FTP class which is this coming Wednesday. I had planned on seeing him on Thursday morning with all my pertinent information so he could make the call to the fire camp. This became complicated when he moved to the other yard and now irrelevant if he was fired. Rumor has it that he was fired and rumor has it that he wasn’t fired! I will find out soon enough.

I arrived back into the dorm and as I made my way to the bathroom area I noticed a memo taped to the wall next to the bathroom. This memo detailed a new shower schedule for all three yards. Apparently, the water usage for the institution has exceeded acceptable levels over the past few weeks. Hmm, does this coincide with the institution operating beyond maximum capacity in the past few weeks? I believe it does. The showers will only be available in three two hour increments everyday. All the other times the water will be shut off in the showers. Our yard is only allowed to shower from 9:30 am to 11:30 am, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, and 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Also, to complicate matters we must be on our bunks for count at 4:15 pm and 9:15 pm. Lets see, 6 hours per day for 36 inmates equals a 10 minute shower per person which is very doable. However, most inmates like myself have jobs or are attending the training classes so their shower availability is now limited. If I arrive back in the dorm after the FTP class at 4:00 pm, I only have a few minutes to get into the shower prior to count and prior to the water getting turned off. If I don’t get into the shower, I would have to wait until after dinner and after 7:30 pm – thus cutting into evening yard.

Okay I could go on and on about the new shower schedule but I won’t. I must say the water usage correlates directly with the overcrowding issue which has been much publicized for the last year. I know what I did was against the law and wrong which is why I am being punished. I was not expecting a country club environment and have been very fortunate all through this journey. However, the situation with the overcrowding is tenuous at best and a powder keg ready to explode. I certainly hope to be long gone to fire camp when it does explode because I don’t want to experience it at all.

I was able to get into the shower prior to it getting turned off and it was a good thing since I smelled like smoke from the controlled burn. I wonder what the life expectancy is of a wild fire firefighter who is exposed to all that smoke?

After the shower, I opened two very nice letters which were postmarked February 20th which is a major improvement and hopefully the mail delivery will speed up. The other was postmarked February 13th which has been typical. Reading these letters is always the highlight of my day. In one of the letters I received a photograph of my children who were standing back to back in their pajamas. My oh my, they are changing right before my eyes. They are growing up very fast and will be very different the next time I see them in the summer. Their appearance will be different but they continue to remain great kids inside thanks to my wife who has provided them with stability in a world of chaos. My wife is a blessing, my children are a blessing, and my life is a blessing.

I had a 7:45 pm telephone call scheduled and I barely made it to the telephones in time. I didn’t want to further burden my wife with the extra telephone expense so I decided to call my mom. Unfortunately, she wasn’t at home but fortunately I was able to speak with my step father. This was the second time speaking with him in 7 ½ months and once again it was a very good conversation and he sounded great.

I awoke the usual 3 and 4 times a night but I was able to fall back to sleep. I sure hope I will be able to sleep through the night after I am released and don’t suffer from type of post traumatic stress disorder. I guess only time will tell.

I have to report about my dorm mate who is also the Instructor and say what a joy he is to be around at both breakfast and dinner. He is always happy when he eats his meals and has never said a disparaging word about the food. Also, he always eats everything on his tray no matter what he is served. I marvel at his attitude because he could be the only inmate who has never complained about the food. I really enjoy eating my meals with him!

This morning he once again had a big ‘ole smile while he ate his favorite cream beef with biscuits. Then of course there is the other dorm mate – who will be paroled in 20 days – who never says a good word about anything and the odd thing is we all seem to sit together. It is the ying-yang at meals. I much prefer the positive to the negative because the negative person really brings me down and I find myself wanting to tell him to just “shut up!” I don’t say anything, I just sit there and listen. Positive attitudes are absolutely more infectious while negative attitudes are infecting. Why can’t people be more positive?