There's Busy Then Not So Busy

Today – being a Friday – meant we were going to have a relief Captain. By the way, it seems all the personnel in CDF are called Captains. There are rare exceptions such as the Battalion Chiefs, but for the most part everyone is a Captain, which is quite impressive. The word from a few of my crew members was that the relief Captain was on vacation and we would be laid-in for the second straight day. I still had to go through the machinations of going to work because we are required to line up and check in. We lined up and sure enough we were lain in for the 2nd straight day. This is a very interesting job because earlier this week, we were very busy and now we are not. I have learned to accept whatever happens and to go with the flow. So for the second time in as many days I had the entire day off. I did keep myself busy and watched my friend sharpen out tools and he was kind enough to sharpen mine as well. He seems to enjoy this and has told me, “A sharp tool is your friend.”

I stood outside for awhile enjoying the very cool weather. The sky was overcast with the temperature in the lower 70’s. It appears southern California’s “June Gloom” had arrived right on time. I have realized over these past 10 ½ months that it is not the journey, but it is what I do within the journey that counts. Time goes by no matter what and I was ensconced in my madness as I let the years slip away. I haven’t had time to breathe in a very long time and this was all my fault. Up until coming here a week and a half ago, I still didn’t know how to breathe. Once I stepped off the van and into camp I could feel my body slow down. This is a key for me to slow down and enjoy the journey. I have always been a person who has been focused on getting from Point A to Point B but I would miss everything in between. I am doing my best to focus on the most important parts of that trip which are my family, friends, and myself. I still have a great deal of baggage to carry around when I get out – most notably a very large restitution amount. I will have to get 6 to 7 jobs to pay this all back. However as long as I stay in the moment and enjoy all the blessings that have been bestowed on me everything will work out.

After lunch, I met up with the camp’s barber to get a very much needed haircut. It has been almost 3 months and my hair is very long and shaggy. The inmate who is a barber knew how to cut hair with scissors. This is the first time since arriving in prison that I had my hair cut with scissors. He did an excellent job and took off a great deal of hair. This is another one of those little things in life I have taken for granted. My Dad was a barber and for 28 years, I never paid for a haircut. When I moved out West, I had a hard time finding a barber and at first I had no idea how to talk to the barbers because I never had to. Ultimately I found someone and no I fully appreciate the value of a good haircut. The haircut cost me 3 soups, 1 tuna fish, and 1 chocolate pudding as a tip. This $1.70 haircut was better than a few $20.00 ones that I have received.

The haircut was over and part of the deal had me sweeping the floor. This was no problem and he did cut off a lot of hair as it filled up a dustpan. My friend was back in the room and now that he is my roommate, we get more visitors. No one would visit me except my friend but now that he is there – the social butterfly - we get more visitors. This does help to pass the time and I don’t mind listening to stories of prison days past. It seems the majority of inmates even here are repeat offenders and they always seem to have stories. Some of these I will never repeat while others are quit amusing.

My friend and I ate with the cook who does make very interesting conversation. I believe he is a contractor in the outside world but he sure does know how to cook. He is a large man in size and stature. I am very happy he likes me because I would not want to get on his bad side. He was looking me over at dinner and I asked him what he was doing. He replied, “I want to se if you put on any weight because it is my mission to fatten you up.” The problem with me is that if I did put on 15 pounds nobody would notice. I’m not sure how my psychotic brain would handle that but I have certainly eaten more in the last 10 days than I have in a very long time.

Dinner was over and it was back to my room briefly. I had to back out to pick up the mail which happens at 7:00 pm and a list is prepared and posted on the central bulletin board notifying the inmates who received mail for that day. My name was on the list and I picked up a letter from my mother. It was postmarked May 29th and I received it 3 days later – a minor miracle! It does appear my mail will arrive on a consistent basis and gone are the two week delivery times. The differences between here and Jamestown continue. It is a wonder both places are part of the same prison system because the differences are astonishing. The letter from my mom was great and receiving mail does make my day!