Quick Synopsis

I am going to do something of the ordinary today. Instead of going into a detailed summary of the past day, I am delivering a quick synopsis since nothing earth shattering happened. The highlights of the past 24 hours occurred during dinner last night and tonight. I was making my way through the food service line, and as I reached the end, I was greeted by one of the C/O’s on duty. This was the C/O who was responsible for my family visit and seemed to be giving me a difficult time. Last night, this C/O made a comment about my weight and my excessive exercising. The comments were a little more than a joke as the delivery was on the serious side. The comments were, “You better slow down on your exercising because you are going to get too skinny, and your wife won’t like that.” I just laughed and didn’t have a retort. This evening as I made my way through the food service line, the same C/O was on duty, and the comments were, “Oh, I see you eat meat” (as there was fried chicken on my tray). I responded, “No, I don’t. I am giving it away.” After I said this, the C/O then gave a look of semi-disgust and said, “I’m serious. You better start eating more because you won’t be able to hike up those hills.” After hearing this, I just laughed and headed to my table. This was a very strange turn of events because up until I scheduled my family visit, this C/O rarely said a few words to me. Now, this C/O is interested in my weight. I don’t have enough courage to say anything in return, and I let the comments roll off of my back. I know I haven’t lost any weight since arriving here last month, nor am I malnourished and ready to fall down. I find this very interesting, and I suspect the comments won’t cease anytime soon.

Those were the highlights of the last 24 hours. Here is the quick synopsis. Last night, after writing, I joined the new table and came into my room to read before falling asleep. I had my normal night’s sleep with a few strange dreams thrown in. I dreamt I was in a hotel in Belgium with my wife, and we were discussing why we didn’t bring the children. After that dream, I had a dream involving my children. I got up at the usual time and ran for 98 minutes (much to the dismay of the C/O). I came inside, showered, dressed, and went to breakfast after my friend. Yes, we are starting to live separate lives. I returned from breakfast and booted up for my day on the grade. This day on the grade had my crew working on the in-camp septic system below the camp property. My big task of the day involved gluing pipes together. I realized that I have zero self-confidence when it comes to anything mechanical which includes the very basic gluing of two pipes together. This is a long-time trait, and I need some help in overcoming this. I suspect I will overcome this sometime in the next 100 years! It really isn’t a big deal, but somewhere down the line, I have to develop some self-confidence in these tasks. Amazingly, the day went by very quickly, and I spent most of the lunch hour talking to the replacement captain about running and hiking. This captain was a former marathon runner and tri-athlete. I enjoyed the conversation, which helped to make the day go by quicker.

My crew came back into camp, and I started the late afternoon routine. I was able to obtain another locker which opens the proper way. My old locker opened from left to right whereas this new (used) locker opens from right to left. I’m sure that last sentence sounds strange to most everyone, but I assure you this is a good thing. I obtained the locker from the room of a recently departed inmate. This was the same inmate who switched his family visit with me a few days ago. He was unceremoniously “rolled-up” (kicked out) from camp this morning. No one seems to know the exact reason, but now he is gone, so it really didn’t matter that he switched his family visit with me because it would have become available anyhow. This inmate has gone through some very traumatic experiences (losing his son in a car accident) in the past few weeks, and it appears the roll-up was a proactive move by the C/O’s. I certainly cannot imagine losing a child, and it has got to be the worst possible event in life. Add to the fact that the father is incarcerated and could not attend the funeral, the tragedy is compounded. I shudder to think what was going on in his mind. Now this inmate is back at the big prison, and hopefully, he will be transferred to another fire camp quickly.

Today was supposed to be the day that the federal judge was to issue his ruling on the overcrowding crisis in the California Prison System. Much like the previous dates, today came and went without any news. I am starting to believe this is all just a hoax and nothing will ever be resolved in the next eight months as I conclude my sentence. I do give up speculating on this matter.

I realize I have hurried through this entry, and I apologize. I’m not sure if I will adopt this new format or not. It has saved me a great deal of time, and now my new “friends” at the “table” want me to play scrabble because they need a fourth player. I am debating whether or not I should play. Whether I play or not, I do know “hump day” has passed, and I am that much closer to finally seeing my family. It is now 17 days and counting until I see my family as they come and visit me. I cannot wait to see them.