From Penthouse To Outhouse

I have been in camp for three major holidays – Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day. With each of these days, the camp served mountains of food for dinner. Yesterday (Labor Day) was not an exception. There were several main entrees; beef ribs, pork sausage, and grilled chicken. Of course with my peculiar diet, I did not eat any of these, but I still had plenty of food even without a special meal. The other items that were served were corn on the cob, baked potato, salad, apple pie, and ice cream. I gave away all of the main entrees and in return had more baked potatoes and corn on the cob that I could eat. I even ate 1-1/2 slices of the apple pie. The holiday meals are very special, and on these days, there isn’t one complaint regarding dinner.

Dinner was over, and I was full. The rest of the night I stayed outside and watched the water-color sunset. The sunsets are very pretty, and last night the clouds were a pinkish-purple color. Not only are the sunsets pretty, they are very peaceful. There is a great vantage point from the “table” which sits in front of the waterfall. This is the most relaxing, tranquil spot on the camp grounds, and with the backdrop of the sunset, it certainly is tranquility at its finest. While watching the sunset, I spoke with my friends. I share several common bonds with my friend who works in the kitchen. We attended the same university, we were both born and raised on the east coast, we both enjoy exercising, and we are both finicky eaters. We shared stories of our youth, and it is funny how our paths have crossed. This is no coincidence. This is exactly as it is intended, and I am very grateful. It was time to turn in for the evening, and before I went to sleep, I listened to the John Tesh “Intelligence for Your Life” radio program. Mr. Tesh is a multitalented person, and the radio program is very fascinating. He does play good music, but in between songs, he shares wisdom on a multitude of subjects from parenting, to relationships, to diet, and many other items.

Before finally drifting off to sleep, I thought about Labor Days past when I was a child. Labor Day would always mark the return to school when I was growing up in New Jersey. It seemed my family never went anywhere on Labor Day weekend because my mother was a school teacher. This would mark her end to summer and return to work. We were content with staying home and watching the Jerry Lewis Telethon. I cam remember staying up into the wee hours of the morning with only my mother while we both watched the telethon. Through the years, I did lose track of the Telethon, but last night I heard on the radio that at the age of 82 Jerry Lewis is still going strong and raised $65.7 million over this past weekend. Etched in my memory bank are Jerry Lewis and his Telethon. He continues to do great work, and this is truly what life is all about - giving back. I have taken so much over the years which was very selfish. Now, my life in dedicated to giving back. I am doing my best in this situation, and it will only get better upon my release date.

I woke up at my usual time, but I was sorer than I have been in a number of months, so I took it easy during my early morning workout. With my new position, I no longer have to worry about getting in my entire workout early in the morning. I have more time available later in the day after the cleaning of the bathrooms. I did manage to get through 400 burpees, which was equal to 1000 pushups, and I was done. As I finished, the members from my former crew were going over to the “canteen’ (store) area. Since we were out on the fire when “canteen” was run, I missed getting my order, as did my old crew members. Some months, canteen is just shipped, but the lieutenant made it a point to run canteen for the crews that were out on the fire. I went over to the area and received my $20 canteen order. I really didn’t need much, and the most important item was a photo ducat so I could take a picture with my mom and sister when they come out next week. I quickly got my canteen items and went off to breakfast. It appears I am the only one who is drinking the rice milk because there is still some left. This is truly a very nice treat with breakfast, and I am very grateful.

With breakfast over, I got great to start my first official day as the bathroom porter! Yes, Friday was my first day, but it technically was a training day because the other bathroom porter was still here. Today, the other bathroom porter paroled, and now it is my sole responsibility to keep the bathrooms clean. Thankfully, I do have an assistant who will be with me until the end of this month, and it is so much better with two people as opposed to one person. I was ready to start my day, and after I checked in, my day had started. I have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse, but being in the outhouse is a huge blessing. I was living a good life prior to coming to prison, but I was not truthful with myself or anyone else around me. Two and one-half years later, I am living a very different life, but it feels so much better because I am truthful with myself and everyone else. I do have peace of mind, and it feels wonderful.

I won’t go into the mundane details of cleaning the bathrooms. I will say I to take my time and will do a very good job. The bathrooms do take my time, and I will do a very good job. The bathrooms did get very dirty over the three-day holiday weekend but nothing a little beach, boiling water, and a few chemicals couldn’t rectify. With the two of us working together, we finished by the noon check-in time. We got a late start because we were waiting with the previous bathroom porter as he waited for his wife to pick him up. Today was his parole day, and as inmates parole, it means I am getting one day closer to my parole. This particular inmate had been incarcerated for the past six years, and he was very excited to go home. Six years is a long time to be incarcerated. Heck, from my experience, one day is a lifetime, so I am sure he feels great. His wife came, and just like that, he drove out of the camp without looking back. My day is coming, and I already have visualized this day. In the meantime, I will continue to clean the bathrooms.

Since I am now an in-camper, I had to move rooms. As it turns out, the previous bathroom porter roomed with my friend who works with the kitchen, so now he and I are roommates. I had to transfer all of my stuff from my current locker to the locker in my new room. I have acquired a great deal of stuff over the past year, and my locker is filled. It took me almost an hour to take my stuff from one locker to the other locker. I still have quite a bit food, and I discovered food I hadn’t seen since I departed Jamestown. It was good that I transferred lockers because I was able to consolidate even further with the items in my locker. I finally got settled into my new room. My new room number is 212, and my roommate is 211. The number 211 is very significant in my life because it is my daughter’s birth date. Along with 211 being my daughter’s birth date, it was my mother’s classroom number when she first started teaching. As it turns out, my daughter is in that very classroom this year. Now, each morning I wake up and look across to my roommate’s towel rack, which has the number 211 in bold print. This may sound trivial, but to me, it once again reiterates that there are no coincidences in life, and I am so happy to see this significant number each and every day for the next six months.

Today flew by so fast, and if this is any indication of how fast the next six months will be, I certainly made the proper decision to come in camp. The morning went by so quickly, and even the afternoon was over before I knew it. I looked at my watch for the first time all day and was surprised when it read 3:00 p.m. I do expect things to slow down a bit because now I am settled in my new room and will be settled with my new routine. It was a great day, and I certainly don’t mind being in this outhouse!