What Would I Do?

Since I was unassigned I spent the day inside reading and writing. The mail call came and brought me a very nice letter from another incredible long-standing member of GA. Each letter brings joy to my day and I am blessed to know some great individuals. I decided to immediately respond to this letter because it did touch me in so many different ways. Life in recovery is outstanding.

When I got back to evening yard, one of my dorm mates was discussing his parole conditions since he is scheduled for release in less than 30 days. He is a multiple time offender and has been on parole 3 other occasions. His parole is now categorized as “high control” which means he is subject to more scrutiny from the Parole Officers. Also, he is subject to a few drug tests each month. This dorm mate was perplexed as to why he was put on “High Control” status and said (this is an actual quote form him) “I only killed a man so I don’t understand why I was put on High Control.” He was serious when he made this statement and in defense of him (if there can be a defense) his charge is manslaughter. According to him, he didn’t directly kill the man, they got into a fight and during the fight, the other man was struck by a car and died. That is not much of a defense and the fact of the matter is someone did die and judging by this dorm mate’s behavior, it really is a good thing he is being put on “High Control” status because he needs it.

There are other factors of his case such as drug addiction and the fight between himself and the other person was drug induced on both parties. Certainly not an excuse but a mitigating factor in his behavior. The dorm mate received the same sentence I did – 4 years serving 2. He was not eligible for fire camp since his crime contained violence so he has served all 2 years. I’m not going to make a comparison between our two cases because I want to move beyond this and the Justice System makes no sense. Oddly enough, this dorm mate is quite a character and hopefully he can get his act together so he doesn’t come back. I wish him well and hope he finds a program of recovery.

As I lay down to sleep, I was faced with a decision regarding the morning. I didn’t receive the ducat which would have reinstated me as a PFT Instructor. However; I still had my uniform and could conceivably go outside for the PFT class. The uniform would allow me entrance into the “old coach’s” office and I was itching to speak with him to confirm that he received my information. There is another twist to this; the “old coach” and the new coach don’t get along and I didn’t want to put myself in the middle of these two. I needed to see the “old coach” without the new coach knowing. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to speak with the “old coach” on my first day with the new coach there. (I hope this isn’t too confusing) What would I do? I didn’t have an answer as I went to sleep. When I woke up for the third time that night, I made my decision which was to get dressed in my Instructor uniform, go to early breakfast, try to see the “old coach” and join the PFT class. I though this was a good decision.

As the PFT class was lining up, the new coach was outside already. I went over to him and he told me I couldn’t start today since he didn’t get a chance to process my paperwork. He apologized and said if I were to get injured while not technically an Instructor, he could get into trouble. I certainly understood and he told me the paperwork should be processed today.

Then the new coach went over to speak with the Lead Instructor. As he did this, I noticed the door was opened to the gym which is where the “old coach’s” office is located. This was a good time to make my way in because I was wearing my PFT uniform which would allow me to get by the CO at the door. I walked right up to the door and without losing stride, I said to the CO standing there, “I need to see the coach.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond as I kept walking into the gym to the “old coach’s” office. I was very happy to see him as I knocked on the door. He told me to come in and knew why I was there. Without me even asking, he told me he received my information yesterday and has forwarded it to the Captain in charge of placement at the fire camp. I took this as good news and the coach wished me well. I thanked him and told him it was a pleasure working for him and we parted ways. This is all I could ask for and the “old coach” has done his part. I am hoping this expedites my transfer to fire camp but only time will provide me the answer. It does appear that I will get to the camp in Southern California; the only question is will it be sooner or later? There is nothing more I can do other than wait.