Lawn Mower Plan

The night’s sleep was not as good as it has been over the past few days. I did follow my water restriction, but it didn’t work very well last night. It wasn’t as bad as it was when I first arrived here, so that is a positive sign. I did have my small debate this morning, and once again, I got my skinny butt out of bed. Today was a running day, and once again, I went longer than my goal. While I was running, I got stopped by the C/O on duty. The rules are if you are running around the makeshift track in the morning, you (me) have to let the on-duty C/O know. I had yet to do this and hadn’t had any problems. In fact, several C/O’s had made comments like “running man” and “marathon man” while I was running. This morning the C/O on duty did stop me and let know I must check-in with him before running. I apologized for my mistake and went on my way.

The inconsistencies of prison life continue even here. There are eight C/O’s, one sergeant, and one lieutenant who oversee the camp. Unfortunately, this means there are 10 different approaches. I have seen the inconsistencies in my short two weeks here, and it does not bother me. I will always do what I am told and follow the rules. It was my fault for not informing the C/O I was running this morning, and it will not happen again. The last thing I want is problems. I want to do the next 9 months as a model prisoner/camper. I have already gotten a reputation with the C/O’s as a “programmer” (a prisoner who follows a good set routine), and this is certainly a positive. I am sure I will make some mistakes along the way, but I will do my best to keep these at a minimum. Yes, I made a mistake this morning, but it was very correctible. After I was stopped, I picked up my run in no time. In my mind, I was only going to run for 60 minutes, but half way through the run, I was feeling very good as is usually the case. I completed 90 minutes of running with fairly extensive hill work. This is a great workout, and I am enjoying my routine.

The run had ended, and my morning was just like the two previous days. I changed, showered, and went to breakfast. Breakfast was more of the same with the hot cereal and potatoes for me. My friend and I are no longer in a hurry to arrive at the dining hall at 7:15 a.m. There is a line at this time, and the dining hall remains open until 7:40 a.m. We have started to arrive at 7:30 a.m., which gives us plenty of time. The only issue becomes seating because there were not enough seats, and we have to time our arrival accordingly. We do sit at the cooks’ table , and the days that they are off do present a challenge. Today was one of those days, and I had to sit by myself only for a minute while one of them was finishing up at the table. All was well when he finished, and I joined my friend at the regular table.

With breakfast over, I returned to my room and did the rest of my morning ritual. I am happy to report my feet are now bandage-free for the first time since my arrival. I no longer require band-aids on my feet, and my feet are getting used to the boots. After putting on my boots, I went outside to fill up my CamelBak. The weather during the month of June in this part of southern California is actually quite autumn-like. The mornings are cool and overcast just like this morning. The higher levels of humidity do not lend themselves to wildfire weather, which in my opinion is a good thing. This is not to say we won’t get assigned to a fire in another part of the state (California is a very large state); however, this just illustrates the initial potential for wildfires in this area. Many of my crew members want to go out on a fire very badly. This is how they make their money; being paid $1 an hour for every hour away from the camp. In my short time at the camp, I have already earned $54. Of course, I will only receive $24.60 of this with the remaining amount going to the restitution fund. The prison system deducts 55% of any pay I receive for as long as I am incarcerated. Needless to say, I probably won’t be able to fulfill my restitution obligation in the next nine months because there aren’t enough hours in that time. This really doesn’t matter. What matters is I will do the rest of my time here at the fire camp, which is where I wanted to get when I started this journey back in July. Anyhow, the weather here is ideal with cool mornings and cool evenings. I have never lived anywhere with better weather, so the positives keep coming.

The work call arrived, and we boarded the bus. Normally, we are aware of our duties for the day; however, today no one knew what was going to happen. We drove on the bus for five minutes, and the captain pulled over to the side of the road. She got out and opened up the back door and called “Gentlemen we are going on a nature hike.” All we were required to bring were our ball caps and CamelBaks. We lined up, and I was all the way in the back behind my friend. I like this position because it provides a low profile for me, and I can ensure my friend makes the hike. As we started, my friend told me I could pass him up and go as fast as I wanted. I didn’t quite understand, so I stayed behind him. Over half way through the hike, I noticed the captain way ahead of us, and I decided to pass my friend up. I continued to pass most of the crew members as well. I caught up with the captain, and she said to me, “I will buy you a six-pack (soda) of your choice if you can pass the two remaining crew members in front of me.” I said, “Okay” and started to break into a jog. Unfortunately, these two had too much of a head start for me to catch them as they were already at the top of the path. I certainly did my best and got to the top, but those two were already there. Five minutes later, the captain arrived, and five minutes after that, the rest of the crew started filing in. I could see the two crew members I didn’t catch, breathing heavily, so if there was a little longer path, I may have caught them. I did have fun and got in another workout for the day. The hike was a little over two miles up and two miles down. The incline was at a good grade. I do enjoy this part of my duties, and without the 45- to 50-pound backpack on, I did so much better. As my roommate said, I was in my element. He also assured me on these “nature hikes” I can “show off” (his words, not mine) when hiking. I may have shown off, but I didn’t mean to, which is why I laid back at the beginning of the hike. This was a great little workout, and I wouldn’t mind doing it at least 3 times a week. My crew members may have a different opinion, but we need to be in good shape when we respond to fires.

It took about 30 minutes to go up and only 16 minutes to go down. I did jog down and followed the two experienced hikers in the crew. We got down all together, and the next crew member arrived eight minutes later. Much to my surprise, the next crew member was my friend. He beat the rest of the crew members by another 10 minutes. I was very impressed with him, but I fear he may have overdone it because his legs were sore the rest of the day. Once everyone arrived back down, we loaded up on the bus and went to our job assignment. It was at a local executive airport where the fire service planes go in and out. There is also a fire station on the premises for the Helitack crew. Our job was to mow, edge, pull weeds, and basically clean up the exterior of the grounds. Everyone had a responsibility, and I volunteered to man the lawn mower. In essence, I was one of the three lawn mower men. Unfortunately, I selected the only non-self-propelled lawnmower. My friend had a very nice one (a Honda lawnmower), but mine was beaten up. There was a great deal of lawn to cut, and it took three of us three hours to cut it. I got my third workout in by pushing the lawnmower, but it really wasn’t so bad. Right before lunch, we had a fire call, and just like the day before, we got all dressed, and it was cancelled while en route.

We returned back to the airport and had lunch. Lunchtime is an hour and is a very relaxed atmosphere. This is passed down from the captain, and it is very nice. Lunch was over, and by the way, my appetite was super because of all the exercise I did today, and I was very hungry. I ate two PB&J sandwiches and two cereal bars. I was still hungry but had no food left to eat. I returned to the lawn mower, and we finished up. This job is one big outdoor yard project. Each day this week has been a different outdoor project. Monday we picked up brush, Tuesday we moved ash, and today was the lawn. I am turning into a regular yard project guy!

The lawn was all mowed, and our day was over. The captain did something very nice as the three of us returned the lawnmowers. We put the lawnmowers away, and she gave each of us a bottle of Gatorade. She only gave the three of us the Gatorade, which I found very nice. She didn’t have to do this, yet she did, and she is a very good person. Yes, she is leaving tomorrow, and there will be a new captain next week. It would have been good to have her for the nine months, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know what to expect from the new captain, but it will work fine.

We returned to the camp at 4:15 p.m., and our official check-in time is 4:30 p.m. We have arrived early before, and it has not been a problem; however, inconsistencies as they were today were a problem. The C/O did not allow us to check in until 4:30 p.m. I could tell the captain was put off by this, but she let the C/O do his thing. The time finally arrived for check-in, but the C/O checked in all of the other crews before finally checking in our crew. I realize this is petty and so did the captain. Power trips do abound, and they are not limited to the inmates. Oh well, we got checked in, and it was on to my return-from-work routine. This routine includes picking up my clean clothes, getting changed, taking a shower, getting dressed, writing, and going to dinner.

Dinner was not very filling tonight for the first time since my arrival. The main entrée was beef stew, which I passed on. The issue of beans was very small, and I was not full. I had to make myself a soup when I got back to my room. Since hot pots are not allowed, I utilized the very hot water faucet. This worked fine, and the soup was ready in no time. I ate the soup and wrote a little. I had a telephone call scheduled, and I called my mother. I set aside a 30-minute block, and we used all the time. It is very good to speak with my mother on a regular basis. The phone call was great as we covered a variety of subjects. The phone call was over, and I returned to my room where I wrote until a few minutes past my bedtime. The days continue to click on by, and it has now been two weeks since my arrival here. The two weeks have gone fast, and now the week was over the hump with only two more days to the weekend. Everything is going well.