Grapefruit

When I really think about it, these days are much like the movie GROUNDHOG DAY where the main character – Bill Murray – had to replay the same day over and over again until he got it right. The days do seem to blend in to one another especially when I reach Thursday. The one glaring difference for me as opposed to in GROUNDHOG DAY is I enjoy each day as it transpires. This makes it so much more tolerable and I do my best to maintain a positive attitude. This has lifted me so much over these past 13 months. Additionally, ever since reading THE POWER OF INTENTION and THE SECRET my positive attitude has remained much more consistent.

During breakfast, the trading of food commenced as usual. The kitchen has implemented a 5 day week peanut butter and jelly lunch which is great for me. Previously it was only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, now it is everyday. Some of the inmates had commented that they didn’t get enough lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They would only receive 2 slices of lunchmeat. Now they receive the lunchmeat and PB&J all week long. This is a great change and now I could count on this sandwich all week long. (I wonder what will become of my peanut butter consumption when I am released? Who knows, maybe I will buy those 5 gallon buckets of peanut butter and go on an exclusive all peanut butter diet! Somehow I don’t see this happening.)

Work call arrived and it was our Captain’s last day before he embarks on a week long vacation. Our assignment today was back at the large local lake where we were on Tuesday. We didn’t have a collective weed-whacking session. First we helped stack office furniture in the warehouse on pallets. It is amazing how fast 15 guys all working together can get things accomplished. This is really very positive having us out in the community doing odd jobs. I wouldn’t mind having a crew to handle any of these jobs I may have at my home or work. The power the crew possess is incredible. There are 16 guys so in the crew so with all of us working together, one hour equals 16 man hours so in the course of 5 hours we can accomplish things that one person would take 2 weeks to do. I was surprised some of the local schools haven’t hired us out for summer projects. From what I understand we work very cheaply especially considering the fact we earn $1.40 a day when not fighting fires so those man hours are well worth it.

After moving the office furniture, the Captain asked for a volunteer to run the bladed weed trimmer. I stepped forward first which is all part of my positive attitude and the fact that I would have a power tool in my hands. My task was to cut down all the wild “tobacco plants”. These aren’t the actual tobacco plants one would find in Virginia or North Carolina which have larger leafs. The problem with these plants is that they suck all the water in the ground. AS I was cutting then down I noticed all the moisture in the roots. Please keep in mind that I was working is a desert environment so water is very precious. These plants grow wild and endanger the other plants because they require so much water. My task was to cut down all of the plants in a very wide area. I was the only person running the weed trimmer and I was essentially by myself. The rest of the crew was in a much smaller area near a few of the maintenance buildings. They were tidying up the grounds by raking and removing leaves and mulch. Yes, I was by myself and when operating the bladed weed trimmer I wear a hard hat, face protection and ear protection which muffles the sound. I walked around the area in my own little zone. I made short work of the cutting and as I was working it was as if I was all alone. Here I was in a very nice natural environment doing my own thing and this is prison. The area was fenced in but the Captain told me to go outside the fence and cut down any plants out there. There was only one exit which was about ½ mile away. I went out of the gate and I was really far away from everyone. This has been such an eye-opening adventure and today I enjoyed myself as I cut down the tobacco plants. Yes, I was in my own little world and enjoying the bright sunshine. I am not recommending prison to anyone, all I am saying is I am making the very best out of everyday.

The Captain gave me another assignment which was to help cart the leaves and such into a dumpster. At lunch some of the members of my crew were eating grapefruits which they were raving about. There were a group of grapefruit trees and we were allowed to pick 2 for ourselves. I don’t have the taste for grapefruits because no matter how sweet they seem to be they always taste bitter to me. However, I did pick 2 so I could bring them back for my friends who do enjoy them. An odd thing happened, I picked 2 grapefruits and was given an additional one by a crew member who didn’t want any. The Captain only allowed me to take the 2 and took away the third one. I did explain to the Captain that the additional grapefruit was given to me but his rule was each member could only take 2 with no exceptions. Apparently, there were problems in the past where crew members would horde the citrus. The Captain’s rule didn’t make much sense to me but I have to abide by it. Anyhow, here I am in prison being allowed to pick grapefruit directly out of a tree. This entire journey continues to workout for the best.