These Saturdays Are So Quiet

Last night I had a very strange dream. I was back in the town where my family currently resides in New Jersey. I was working in a supermarket where I once worked when I was 16 years old. It was unclear whether the dream was current or it was when I first worked there 25 years ago. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it has been 25 years since I got my first job. Wow! Where has all the time gone?

I was able to sleep in today until 5:30 am. I had nothing pressing all day except for writing. Saturday does provide the perfect day to compose letters and today I wrote 3 of them. I like to take my time and today I had plenty of that.

My crew was on the fire roll but once again the fire calls remained silent. The lack of fire calls seem to be annoying some of my crew members but certainly doesn’t annoy me. Obviously, if a fire call arrives, I will do my best to fight the fire but for now I don’t mind the lack of fires. I do find it a bit ironic that fire captains who are paid to fight fires (actually they are paid not to fight fires as well, but they do earn a significant part of their salary while on overtime fighting fires) are actually rooting for fires. This also goes for some of the crew members. I find this to be bad karma and I won’t be rooting for any fires anytime soon.

The afternoon started out by calling my wife. I found a way to save my wife some expense of the collect calls through the Bail Bond Office which is available during the early afternoon hours. I was able to contact my wife through them which allows her to talk to me cost free. When I call through the company, the 15 minute time frame is shortened because connecting through them takes time. I was able to speak with both my children. My goodness, they continue to grow up and my son now has very good conversations on the telephone. He told me about his soccer game which was played earlier today. His team won 2-0 and he was the goalie recording his first shutout. Then I spoke with my daughter who continues to mature each time I speak with her. Her soccer game didn’t go as well since her team lost and she didn’t score any goals. On the other hand her softball team is in the playoffs and if they win their next game, they will be in the championship game. She is getting more confident with softball and her hitting has come along way. Early in the season she was very down on herself. Now she is very upbeat about the games. This was great to hear and both of my children wished me a Happy Father’s Day. This will be the last Father’s Day I will be separated from my children. I had a great conversation with my children and as is always the case it was great hearing their voices. Last week I was down but not this week. They will be here in less than a month. I know their stay will be brief, but it will be well worth it just to see each of them.

Saturdays can be difficult without visits because I have so much down time. I do try to use my time effectively, but after composing the letters and reading all I wanted to do was relax. Standing outside helped and when I came in I listened to my radio.

While I was eating dinner, one of my crew members received word on the court action scheduled for this Tuesday regarding the prison overcrowding issue. This crew member’s wife came to visit him and brought an LA Times online article which was dated today. There was good news and bad news. It doesn’t appear that I will be receiving an earlier release date. The Federal Judge overseeing the case is leaning toward the parole reform first and foremost. The biggest problem here is parole. Over 50% of the inmates which equals about 80,000 – are here for parole violation which could be as insignificant as missing a parole appointment, failure to report on time, going beyond their designated area and other inconsequential things. Currently, the parole period is 3 years no matter the crime. If a parolee completes their commitment, they can be off parole in 13 months. Apparently many parole violations are of no threat to society and only add to the prison overcrowding. In a given year, 180,000 inmates can be in and out of prison within one year for a violation. So the Federal Judge is looking to shorten the parole period from 3 years to 3 months for non-violent offenders, 6 months for violent offenders and 1 year for violent offenders who use a weapon. This is where the good news occurs for me because if this new parole policy is implemented, I will be off parole in May of next year instead of March of the following year. Once I am off parole I am free to leave the state of California which opens up my options greatly. I won’t know for sure until Tuesday when the Federal Judge issues his ruling, but according to this article, the news is positive for parole reform which does help me.

I was waiting for pill call tonight because I have this strange rash on my right bicep which turns out might be poison oak. It is very prevalent in this area and judging by how much I have been in the wilderness, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit. Ah, the great outdoors! I knew I chose to work in an office for a reason!