9:46pm
Today I was given another job as a 1st shift dorm cleaner. No, I didn't want another job but it's part of the territory of going to jail. Plus, the Lt. that makes the decisions is also over the law library and has been after me to return to work, something I've avoided because he hired a rat (snitch) while I was gone. Actually I believe that decision came from his superiors, but that doesn't matter to me. This rat is so obnoxious that I fear being around him because of what can happen, he acts like telling will prevent someone from hitting him in his mouth, so I stay away cause I'm not into going to jail. Anyway, the Lt. is letting me have my way and at the same time showing me that he's in control.
I'm now required to wake up by 7:30am and clean the dorm while everyone is either forced outside or asleep. The work may mean cleaning the showers, sinks, toilets, sweeping and mopping. Occasionally dorm cleaners have to spray the dorm down with a high pressure sprayer, that requires moving all the bunks around and getting all that water up. I'll give this a try but eventually I'm going back in the law library. Just like the police - a little labor can make me appreciate what I had.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
August 28, 2007
12:24pm
Our consolation prize was some needed repairs to the drainage system are finally being addressed, some extra hours of shower time and respect. There is a bit more but they are so insignificant that they slip my mind. Like always there are hundreds of inmates saying they won't ride on anymore protest, but I know better. The frustration that we live with can surface anytime and these same frustrated souls will participate if it's only to relieve some pressure. Lord knows I've followed before and can't wait for the next time.
Our consolation prize was some needed repairs to the drainage system are finally being addressed, some extra hours of shower time and respect. There is a bit more but they are so insignificant that they slip my mind. Like always there are hundreds of inmates saying they won't ride on anymore protest, but I know better. The frustration that we live with can surface anytime and these same frustrated souls will participate if it's only to relieve some pressure. Lord knows I've followed before and can't wait for the next time.
August 26, 2007
11:49pm
They say we shouldn't cry over spilt milk. I can't help it, especially when that milk was cold, fresh and in a glass titted toward my mouth. We had these bastards and let the opportunity slip through our hands.
The key to the protest succeeding was money, when you interfere with the bottom line you get demands met. When the workers don't report to work for the prison industry jobs at Holman the state loses money if deadlines aren't met. The inmates in the "Tag Plant" make tags for states all across America and the inmates in the "Metal Fabrication Plant" make park benches , grills, tables and other objects that are sold to governments for public use. The "Tag Plant" has contracts for about 8,000,000 tags to be delivered by the end of the year, over 1,000,000 need to be done by the end of August.
Most of the money these inmates generate goes to help run the entire prison system while they make less than $70°° a month. We'r talking about men making 25-40 cents an hour for jobs that will pay $10°° an hour or more if done by free employees. Oh, keep in mind that when no inmates report to key jobs in the kitchen the state has to pay their officers overtime to have enough staff on hand to feed us. More money they must spend when they are already crying broke, which is so routine nobody pays it attention anymore, inmates understand how broke they really are.
The few diabetics that live in my dorm would tell us what was happening when they wen to eat and/or get their medicine. To hear that these lazy officers were sweating as they did some of the most demanding jobs was very satisfying to me. These are the same officers that think what the inmates do is easy, some even come to work with attitudes and take it out on us. These police forget that they are paid for doing nothing ! Don't get me wrong, they are not paid to work in the normal sense of the word but are paid for what could happen. In other word's, prisons run themselves on the backs of inmates and the staff is paid to prevent escapes and to prevent or halt violence. Most of these officers have not been working long enough to have experienced full blown riots or the hellish days of Holman's past and they take their jobs and the laidback nature of the inmates for granted. There is nothing like having to prepare meals for a thousand men to help them put things in prospective.
They say we shouldn't cry over spilt milk. I can't help it, especially when that milk was cold, fresh and in a glass titted toward my mouth. We had these bastards and let the opportunity slip through our hands.
The key to the protest succeeding was money, when you interfere with the bottom line you get demands met. When the workers don't report to work for the prison industry jobs at Holman the state loses money if deadlines aren't met. The inmates in the "Tag Plant" make tags for states all across America and the inmates in the "Metal Fabrication Plant" make park benches , grills, tables and other objects that are sold to governments for public use. The "Tag Plant" has contracts for about 8,000,000 tags to be delivered by the end of the year, over 1,000,000 need to be done by the end of August.
Most of the money these inmates generate goes to help run the entire prison system while they make less than $70°° a month. We'r talking about men making 25-40 cents an hour for jobs that will pay $10°° an hour or more if done by free employees. Oh, keep in mind that when no inmates report to key jobs in the kitchen the state has to pay their officers overtime to have enough staff on hand to feed us. More money they must spend when they are already crying broke, which is so routine nobody pays it attention anymore, inmates understand how broke they really are.
The few diabetics that live in my dorm would tell us what was happening when they wen to eat and/or get their medicine. To hear that these lazy officers were sweating as they did some of the most demanding jobs was very satisfying to me. These are the same officers that think what the inmates do is easy, some even come to work with attitudes and take it out on us. These police forget that they are paid for doing nothing ! Don't get me wrong, they are not paid to work in the normal sense of the word but are paid for what could happen. In other word's, prisons run themselves on the backs of inmates and the staff is paid to prevent escapes and to prevent or halt violence. Most of these officers have not been working long enough to have experienced full blown riots or the hellish days of Holman's past and they take their jobs and the laidback nature of the inmates for granted. There is nothing like having to prepare meals for a thousand men to help them put things in prospective.
August 25, 2007
10:19
Getting back to how the protest turned out...
We appeared to be united when we went to bed on the 6th, but the warden had an ace up his sleeve. When I awoke on the 7 there were five police in the dorm, one was the usual officer that's in here (they wear light blue shirts and navy blue pants) and the other four were members of the riot team - all black from head to toe with some very long sticks on their sides. The riot team is made up of DOC officers from across the state. These officers are very aggressive and have nasty attitudes, they actually try to push our bottons so they will have a reason to bust our heads.
Fear was the warden's ace and the riot team introduced fear into these weak %÷\#/\@*$< hearts. To see these so called gangsters tipping around like they were walking on eggshells separated the men from the boys. No matter what's thrown at me I will always be who I am and that's a scary man with a big mouth. Nobody shall take my voice until I'm dead, especially when I'm in the right or at least justified in my point of view.
Yes, I can admit to being scared of many things, but I'm not a coward. Cowards allow their fears to paralyze them! Fear only makes me take a step back and proceed with caution. These men that feared the riot team the most are the same men that wanted to kill each other the night before. This wasn't a riot and we had valid issues so all we had to do was act normal. Even the members of the riot team realized that we weren't acting a fool and that the conditions we live under are indeed very sad, many of them were disappointed for being called away from their families.
Later that morning our representatives met with the warden again, then were allowed to discuss things alone when the warden left. One dorm was going to eat but not work and that caused the rest to fold. By the time they called for my dorm to eat dinner three of the five dorms had already ate and I watched my dorm empty, about 20 of us held out for the 48 hours. As hungry as I was there was nothing that could make me fold, I committed to a 48 hour hunger strike and that's what I intended to do. Perhaps the saddest thing that happened was when the dorm for the kitchen workers was called to eat they immediately moved the police out of the way and went to cooking, cleaning and serving food.
Getting back to how the protest turned out...
We appeared to be united when we went to bed on the 6th, but the warden had an ace up his sleeve. When I awoke on the 7 there were five police in the dorm, one was the usual officer that's in here (they wear light blue shirts and navy blue pants) and the other four were members of the riot team - all black from head to toe with some very long sticks on their sides. The riot team is made up of DOC officers from across the state. These officers are very aggressive and have nasty attitudes, they actually try to push our bottons so they will have a reason to bust our heads.
Fear was the warden's ace and the riot team introduced fear into these weak %÷\#/\@*$< hearts. To see these so called gangsters tipping around like they were walking on eggshells separated the men from the boys. No matter what's thrown at me I will always be who I am and that's a scary man with a big mouth. Nobody shall take my voice until I'm dead, especially when I'm in the right or at least justified in my point of view.
Yes, I can admit to being scared of many things, but I'm not a coward. Cowards allow their fears to paralyze them! Fear only makes me take a step back and proceed with caution. These men that feared the riot team the most are the same men that wanted to kill each other the night before. This wasn't a riot and we had valid issues so all we had to do was act normal. Even the members of the riot team realized that we weren't acting a fool and that the conditions we live under are indeed very sad, many of them were disappointed for being called away from their families.
Later that morning our representatives met with the warden again, then were allowed to discuss things alone when the warden left. One dorm was going to eat but not work and that caused the rest to fold. By the time they called for my dorm to eat dinner three of the five dorms had already ate and I watched my dorm empty, about 20 of us held out for the 48 hours. As hungry as I was there was nothing that could make me fold, I committed to a 48 hour hunger strike and that's what I intended to do. Perhaps the saddest thing that happened was when the dorm for the kitchen workers was called to eat they immediately moved the police out of the way and went to cooking, cleaning and serving food.
August 23, 2007
9:15pm
Luther Williams was scheduled to be executed three hours ago. I've not asked anyone did the execution happen because I feel it in my gut. I'll watch the ten o'clock news for their 30 seconds of coverage.
Execution days are so much harder for me in pop. than they were on the row. On death row everyone was experiencing the same thing and the mood was somber, plus I could avoid so much in that tiny cell. Now I am forced to be around individuals that have no idea of the storm that's brewing within me. To make matters worst they say the damnedest things and when I attempt to answer questions or let them know how insensitive their thoughts are it only adds to my frustration. The only people who seem to understand are former death row inmates, guys that almost landed on death row and a few of the police that know of my past.
Luther Williams was scheduled to be executed three hours ago. I've not asked anyone did the execution happen because I feel it in my gut. I'll watch the ten o'clock news for their 30 seconds of coverage.
Execution days are so much harder for me in pop. than they were on the row. On death row everyone was experiencing the same thing and the mood was somber, plus I could avoid so much in that tiny cell. Now I am forced to be around individuals that have no idea of the storm that's brewing within me. To make matters worst they say the damnedest things and when I attempt to answer questions or let them know how insensitive their thoughts are it only adds to my frustration. The only people who seem to understand are former death row inmates, guys that almost landed on death row and a few of the police that know of my past.
Friday, September 21, 2007
August 22, 2007
2:16am
The heat has returned with a vengeance and I'm unable to sleep. Things were getting better for about a week, but the last two days have been unbearable. The middle and high 90's have been the norm this summer; it's so bad that "heat advisories" have been issued for most of this region and a large of the United States. It was to the point that Chaplain Bowder, a minister who visits Holman about twice a year and has cookouts with religious services, donated Gatorade to the prison for us. Gatorade and donuts can go a long way toward showing us that we're not forgotten and loved, especially when we live in hell.
Since my last update Alabama has murdered one of my friends, Darell Grayson, on July 26th. Darrell was the Chairman of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty and helped me grow over the last few years on the row, losing him was a hard pill to swallow.
Since my last update Alabama has murdered one of my friends, Darell Grayson, on July 26th. Darrell was the Chairman of Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty and helped me grow over the last few years on the row, losing him was a hard pill to swallow.
To make matters worst they plan on killing another friend, Luther Williams, on the 23rd. More executions are either scheduled or expected to be scheduled in the coming months and I know everyone of these men very well.
There is an old saying that states, "If it's not one thing it's another", that's exactly how I feel about what's been happening this summer. Since my last update we've experienced some of everything.
On July 30th there was another stabbing, but this one came with a few twist. Two inmates got into a fight and one was putting a good ass whipping on the other when two of the loser's friends attempted to break it up, the loser upped his knife or box cutter and cut the winner in the chest, face and throat while he was being help back. In rush the police and one of them was cut on the arms while breaking it up. The two inmates that were fighting went to jail along with one of the guys that tried to stop the fight.
The guy who was winning and got cut is one of the few inmates I actually like in "general population", so this pissed me off because it could have all been avoided or at least he shouldn't have gotten cut. Men in prison are very strong and full of frustration so when they willingly collide it's with tremendous force. In other words, you can't break up a fight with only two individuals unless you're so damn strong that you can toss the participants far apart. Those who attempted to stop the fight are responsible for the stabbing, because if they had stayed out of it the loser would not have had a chance to pull a knife - especially not with the whipping he was receiving. This was Holman's sixth stabbing this summer.
This resulted in population being locked down and the first few days went rather well. Things began to change very slowly on the 3rd of August because of the warden's antagonizing remarks. When asked when he'd lift the lock down he gave the following replies; when I'm ready, in a month and never. Those aren't his exact words but they are damn close. Then on the 5th everyone saw the officer that had been cut and he had a bandage on each arm, clearly not life threatening and the warden is talking about punishing the innocent for a month.
Since our warden arrived at Holman as the deputy warden he's wanted to implement "controlled movement" and this was another opportunity to enforce his will upon us. Controlled Movement is any measure that assist the staff in restricting who moves, how they move and where they move. The warden has already restricted death row to levels that I've never experienced in my stay there. On the row they added more wire mesh, steel plates and doors that prevent the inmates from passing things from tier to tier. Now in population the measures include cameras in most blind spots, a police on the exercise yard whenever it's open, an electric fence (cameras and movement sensors) so several towers could be closed for the those officers to be placed on the halls. With this lock down we were allowed outside one dorm at a time a few times a week, less time than we would've gotten in seg. or on death row.
We saw the injured officer at our last meal and by 7:00pm that night the masses united in a protest. Since I don't huddle up and gossip with everyone I was not informed about anything. The first thing I noticed was that guys were setting the TV's, microwaves and irons out of the dorms, this created a bit of excitement and the general feeling of "it's about time we did something". As the hours progressed we had agreed to not work and as a sign of of our unity to have a 48h hunger strike. All five dormitories were down with this and we passed messages back and forth through notes by the hall runner and shouting. In my dorm I was one of the main guys writing our demands to be passed to the other dorms, not a role I desired but somebody had to do it.
The plan was for nobody to negotiate with the warden. We wanted to see the Prison Commissioner who is the warden's boss. The complaints included our poor living conditions, the food, expensive rates when we call our families, everyone being punished for the actions of one or two individuals, lack of hot water and "Controlled Movement". The best laid plans usually go awry and this protest was clearly a spur of the movement thing.
On the 6th the Deputy Commissioner came and met with our representatives, not much was accomplished from that meeting because he simply passed the buck around. Hindsight tells me that he was filling us out and buying time while their thinkers came up with something. The representatives got called out again that evening and wound up in a meeting with the warden. Instead of walking out on him they talked and reported back to us, this was a major mistake because mankind is naturally weak in unity and discipline, give the weak a way out and they'll take it or at least introduce dissension amongst our ranks.
Mission Accomplished! Our warden is a master at psychology, I think he even has a PhD in psychology, if he’d been thinking before he antagonized us with those remarks the shutdown would’ve never happened. By the evening of the 6th guys were at each other’s throats – literally. The main point of disagreement was the hunger strike, guys wanted to eat and begun accusing others of not sharing the little food they had. This was untrue from what I seen because when someone opened a pack of cookies that only has 16 cookies at least five men ate from that pack of cookies. Other men fixed meals for the sickly and elderly soldiers among us and there were others passing out snacks until they had nothing for themselves. Men I viewed as being selfish showed me another side of themselves; unity can be such a beautiful experience.
There is an old saying that states, "If it's not one thing it's another", that's exactly how I feel about what's been happening this summer. Since my last update we've experienced some of everything.
On July 30th there was another stabbing, but this one came with a few twist. Two inmates got into a fight and one was putting a good ass whipping on the other when two of the loser's friends attempted to break it up, the loser upped his knife or box cutter and cut the winner in the chest, face and throat while he was being help back. In rush the police and one of them was cut on the arms while breaking it up. The two inmates that were fighting went to jail along with one of the guys that tried to stop the fight.
The guy who was winning and got cut is one of the few inmates I actually like in "general population", so this pissed me off because it could have all been avoided or at least he shouldn't have gotten cut. Men in prison are very strong and full of frustration so when they willingly collide it's with tremendous force. In other words, you can't break up a fight with only two individuals unless you're so damn strong that you can toss the participants far apart. Those who attempted to stop the fight are responsible for the stabbing, because if they had stayed out of it the loser would not have had a chance to pull a knife - especially not with the whipping he was receiving. This was Holman's sixth stabbing this summer.
This resulted in population being locked down and the first few days went rather well. Things began to change very slowly on the 3rd of August because of the warden's antagonizing remarks. When asked when he'd lift the lock down he gave the following replies; when I'm ready, in a month and never. Those aren't his exact words but they are damn close. Then on the 5th everyone saw the officer that had been cut and he had a bandage on each arm, clearly not life threatening and the warden is talking about punishing the innocent for a month.
Since our warden arrived at Holman as the deputy warden he's wanted to implement "controlled movement" and this was another opportunity to enforce his will upon us. Controlled Movement is any measure that assist the staff in restricting who moves, how they move and where they move. The warden has already restricted death row to levels that I've never experienced in my stay there. On the row they added more wire mesh, steel plates and doors that prevent the inmates from passing things from tier to tier. Now in population the measures include cameras in most blind spots, a police on the exercise yard whenever it's open, an electric fence (cameras and movement sensors) so several towers could be closed for the those officers to be placed on the halls. With this lock down we were allowed outside one dorm at a time a few times a week, less time than we would've gotten in seg. or on death row.
We saw the injured officer at our last meal and by 7:00pm that night the masses united in a protest. Since I don't huddle up and gossip with everyone I was not informed about anything. The first thing I noticed was that guys were setting the TV's, microwaves and irons out of the dorms, this created a bit of excitement and the general feeling of "it's about time we did something". As the hours progressed we had agreed to not work and as a sign of of our unity to have a 48h hunger strike. All five dormitories were down with this and we passed messages back and forth through notes by the hall runner and shouting. In my dorm I was one of the main guys writing our demands to be passed to the other dorms, not a role I desired but somebody had to do it.
The plan was for nobody to negotiate with the warden. We wanted to see the Prison Commissioner who is the warden's boss. The complaints included our poor living conditions, the food, expensive rates when we call our families, everyone being punished for the actions of one or two individuals, lack of hot water and "Controlled Movement". The best laid plans usually go awry and this protest was clearly a spur of the movement thing.
On the 6th the Deputy Commissioner came and met with our representatives, not much was accomplished from that meeting because he simply passed the buck around. Hindsight tells me that he was filling us out and buying time while their thinkers came up with something. The representatives got called out again that evening and wound up in a meeting with the warden. Instead of walking out on him they talked and reported back to us, this was a major mistake because mankind is naturally weak in unity and discipline, give the weak a way out and they'll take it or at least introduce dissension amongst our ranks.
Mission Accomplished! Our warden is a master at psychology, I think he even has a PhD in psychology, if he’d been thinking before he antagonized us with those remarks the shutdown would’ve never happened. By the evening of the 6th guys were at each other’s throats – literally. The main point of disagreement was the hunger strike, guys wanted to eat and begun accusing others of not sharing the little food they had. This was untrue from what I seen because when someone opened a pack of cookies that only has 16 cookies at least five men ate from that pack of cookies. Other men fixed meals for the sickly and elderly soldiers among us and there were others passing out snacks until they had nothing for themselves. Men I viewed as being selfish showed me another side of themselves; unity can be such a beautiful experience.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
July 24, 2007
10:46pm
I'm hungry enough to eat Mickey Mouse!! The lunch and dinner meals weren't very eatable, so I skipped lunch altogether and ate three cookies at dinner. Big mistake since I don't have anything else to eat, but I'm just tired of eating nothing else for over three months. In two days I get off restriction and hopefully will get a store order on the same day. Lord knows I need it because I've borrowed all that I can and the lenders are sweating the 26th as hard as I am.
Before I mail this off there are two more things to mention. MSNBC came to Holman to shoot a documentary that will air in the coming months. Visit their website and you will find the first documentary they shoot in 2006. Both times they asked me to participate and I turned them down because my lawyers were against the idea, as badly as I wanted to have my say it wasn't worth bucking my attorneys. Oh, the show is titled "Lock Down" or "Locked Down".
The other thing I forgot to include is that Jeremiah Jackson was released from seg. several days after me and guess where he's sleeping. That's right, on top of my bunk. He says that he can't seem to get away from me. Jeremiah was filmed for MSNBC's recent documentary, so check him out.
I'm hungry enough to eat Mickey Mouse!! The lunch and dinner meals weren't very eatable, so I skipped lunch altogether and ate three cookies at dinner. Big mistake since I don't have anything else to eat, but I'm just tired of eating nothing else for over three months. In two days I get off restriction and hopefully will get a store order on the same day. Lord knows I need it because I've borrowed all that I can and the lenders are sweating the 26th as hard as I am.
Before I mail this off there are two more things to mention. MSNBC came to Holman to shoot a documentary that will air in the coming months. Visit their website and you will find the first documentary they shoot in 2006. Both times they asked me to participate and I turned them down because my lawyers were against the idea, as badly as I wanted to have my say it wasn't worth bucking my attorneys. Oh, the show is titled "Lock Down" or "Locked Down".
The other thing I forgot to include is that Jeremiah Jackson was released from seg. several days after me and guess where he's sleeping. That's right, on top of my bunk. He says that he can't seem to get away from me. Jeremiah was filmed for MSNBC's recent documentary, so check him out.
July 23, 2007
10:15pm
The muscles relaxers have not arrived yet! But a few kind nurses gave me some anyway, those pills really have helped. How much? After lunch I played a game of basketball! I didn't play very long and it did not matter. We even won the game, our first victory in a very long time. I'm dedicating this win to the Creator for blessing us with the ability of self-healing.
The muscles relaxers have not arrived yet! But a few kind nurses gave me some anyway, those pills really have helped. How much? After lunch I played a game of basketball! I didn't play very long and it did not matter. We even won the game, our first victory in a very long time. I'm dedicating this win to the Creator for blessing us with the ability of self-healing.
July 23, 2007
1:25am
This update should've been mailed days ago, but as we know life rarely goes as planned. On the 17th I was warming up to play a pick up game of basketball and hurt my back, a simple turn to get a rebound and I strained a muscle in my lower back. This has happened over the years so I knew that it would not get worse by playing, no matter what I do the healing process has a mind of its own. After maybe an hour of basketball and running some laps around the yard I was ready to shower and get some sleep.
The officer in my dorm refused to anyone shower, even the workers that are approved to shower after work. At lunch time I went to another dorm to shower and went to sleep before noon without going to eat. When I awoke at 2:00 to use the bathroom I could barely walk, it took me fifteen minutes to get out of bed, walk to the urinal and back to bed. Whatever happened in my back was more severe than I thought.
I talked to the officer in the dorm about the situation and after calling the clinic twice they sent a wheelchair to get me. Once in the clinic the nurse took my blood pressure, weight, temperature and asked me to get up and walk about six feet. That was a very slow and painful walk as I was bent at the waist and crooked to the right. She gave me three ibuprofen and told me, “You can’t take that wheelchair back when you leave”.
You’d think that with my crippled walk and complaints of pain the nurse would have looked at my back. There were two doctors in clinic at the time and neither were called to see me. On the way out the door I was complaining to the nurse about how she was treating me and told her, “You didn’t even look at my back”. Her response was, “Turn around. You just want me to see your back”. As if her looking at my back was a turn-on! I’ll be the first to admit that almost 18 years with only “self-satisfying sex” keeps me horny for the slightest sight, smell and touch from a woman, but I never cry wolf with my health and her simpleton thoughts only pissed me off.
Pleading with her to let me send the chair back once I reached my bed fell upon deaf ears. I was forced to walk out of there and it took me about ten minutes to reach the dining hall, where I ate a sandwich because the other food was all gone. I’m dreading the long walk down the hall to my bed and after searching my brain for a solution it comes to me. I had an officer call another dorm to ask a guy can I borrow his wheelchair for a few minutes. When the chair arrived I was pushed to my bed where I stayed unless I had to use the bathroom.
The next morning I managed to make it to pill call and breakfast still walking like a bent up “Z”. More ibuprofen.
After another day without much improvement I signed up to see the medical staff and Nurse Simpleton is the one to review me again. She takes my vitals and asked what’s wrong. I tell her that my back hasn’t improved and they haven’t done anything to help, but she informs me that some muscle relaxers were ordered for me. Things here are ass backwards as ever, I’m hurting and must wait on the pills to arrive in a few days! No muscle rub! No brace or wraps!
On the 20th I felt good enough to walk for 30 minutes around the exercise yard, it was painful but I needed to stimulate the muscles somehow. A friend attempted to play chiropractor before I reached my dorm and another guy attempted to massage the knotted muscle later that night. By the 21st I was walking straight with less pain. My other therapies included some borrowed muscle rub and stretching.
This update should've been mailed days ago, but as we know life rarely goes as planned. On the 17th I was warming up to play a pick up game of basketball and hurt my back, a simple turn to get a rebound and I strained a muscle in my lower back. This has happened over the years so I knew that it would not get worse by playing, no matter what I do the healing process has a mind of its own. After maybe an hour of basketball and running some laps around the yard I was ready to shower and get some sleep.
The officer in my dorm refused to anyone shower, even the workers that are approved to shower after work. At lunch time I went to another dorm to shower and went to sleep before noon without going to eat. When I awoke at 2:00 to use the bathroom I could barely walk, it took me fifteen minutes to get out of bed, walk to the urinal and back to bed. Whatever happened in my back was more severe than I thought.
I talked to the officer in the dorm about the situation and after calling the clinic twice they sent a wheelchair to get me. Once in the clinic the nurse took my blood pressure, weight, temperature and asked me to get up and walk about six feet. That was a very slow and painful walk as I was bent at the waist and crooked to the right. She gave me three ibuprofen and told me, “You can’t take that wheelchair back when you leave”.
You’d think that with my crippled walk and complaints of pain the nurse would have looked at my back. There were two doctors in clinic at the time and neither were called to see me. On the way out the door I was complaining to the nurse about how she was treating me and told her, “You didn’t even look at my back”. Her response was, “Turn around. You just want me to see your back”. As if her looking at my back was a turn-on! I’ll be the first to admit that almost 18 years with only “self-satisfying sex” keeps me horny for the slightest sight, smell and touch from a woman, but I never cry wolf with my health and her simpleton thoughts only pissed me off.
Pleading with her to let me send the chair back once I reached my bed fell upon deaf ears. I was forced to walk out of there and it took me about ten minutes to reach the dining hall, where I ate a sandwich because the other food was all gone. I’m dreading the long walk down the hall to my bed and after searching my brain for a solution it comes to me. I had an officer call another dorm to ask a guy can I borrow his wheelchair for a few minutes. When the chair arrived I was pushed to my bed where I stayed unless I had to use the bathroom.
The next morning I managed to make it to pill call and breakfast still walking like a bent up “Z”. More ibuprofen.
After another day without much improvement I signed up to see the medical staff and Nurse Simpleton is the one to review me again. She takes my vitals and asked what’s wrong. I tell her that my back hasn’t improved and they haven’t done anything to help, but she informs me that some muscle relaxers were ordered for me. Things here are ass backwards as ever, I’m hurting and must wait on the pills to arrive in a few days! No muscle rub! No brace or wraps!
On the 20th I felt good enough to walk for 30 minutes around the exercise yard, it was painful but I needed to stimulate the muscles somehow. A friend attempted to play chiropractor before I reached my dorm and another guy attempted to massage the knotted muscle later that night. By the 21st I was walking straight with less pain. My other therapies included some borrowed muscle rub and stretching.
July 17, 2007
1:20am
The rest of the weekend went by quietly, but today was another story. At 7:30am on the 16th my neighbor hit my leg and said, "They got me". I thought he was joking until he started packing his stuff to go to jail, he was among twelve more positive drug test that were from the 108 collected last week. Once again shock waves went through population. One of the twelve was caught with an ounce of weed in his property as he was being searched and processed into segregation, it will be maybe six months before we see him again. All 17 of those inmates who failed the test will get 45 days in the doghouse, charged $31.50 for the cost of the test and do at least 90 days in jail.
The chase continues as they tested more of us today. The only bright spot was that seventeen men were released from seg.. When the sun rises nobody knows what to expect.
The rest of the weekend went by quietly, but today was another story. At 7:30am on the 16th my neighbor hit my leg and said, "They got me". I thought he was joking until he started packing his stuff to go to jail, he was among twelve more positive drug test that were from the 108 collected last week. Once again shock waves went through population. One of the twelve was caught with an ounce of weed in his property as he was being searched and processed into segregation, it will be maybe six months before we see him again. All 17 of those inmates who failed the test will get 45 days in the doghouse, charged $31.50 for the cost of the test and do at least 90 days in jail.
The chase continues as they tested more of us today. The only bright spot was that seventeen men were released from seg.. When the sun rises nobody knows what to expect.
July 13, 2007
9:30pm
The warden is piling on the bullshit; today he had the balls to have a fire drill at 1:00pm in the 94°F heat with high humidity. My blood was boiling for this and it did not help that most of the inmates appeared to take it all in stride. If things had developed I could have gotten swept up in a riot very easily, I'm not sure whether I should be thankful that the natives are so passive.
Later in the evening I went to play some pick up games of basketball. One minute the sideline was crowded with players wanting next and the next it was empty cause they went to watch the first viewing of the weekend videos at 6:00pm. Still full of energy I ended up playing a drag queen one on one and lost three games to him. Now I'm being teased for losing to a sissy, but I tell them that I had balls to play him while they wouldn't. Yes, this sissy has a good game that combines skill and power.
Every Friday, the warden adds his comments to the daily newsletter that usually only has the menu, Dr's list and other such information. He told us that 108 urine samples were collected with half being tested and five positive results, good numbers in his eyes. The warden also said that more test were coming, threatening to break the testing machine if that's what it takes to stop us.
The warden is piling on the bullshit; today he had the balls to have a fire drill at 1:00pm in the 94°F heat with high humidity. My blood was boiling for this and it did not help that most of the inmates appeared to take it all in stride. If things had developed I could have gotten swept up in a riot very easily, I'm not sure whether I should be thankful that the natives are so passive.
Later in the evening I went to play some pick up games of basketball. One minute the sideline was crowded with players wanting next and the next it was empty cause they went to watch the first viewing of the weekend videos at 6:00pm. Still full of energy I ended up playing a drag queen one on one and lost three games to him. Now I'm being teased for losing to a sissy, but I tell them that I had balls to play him while they wouldn't. Yes, this sissy has a good game that combines skill and power.
Every Friday, the warden adds his comments to the daily newsletter that usually only has the menu, Dr's list and other such information. He told us that 108 urine samples were collected with half being tested and five positive results, good numbers in his eyes. The warden also said that more test were coming, threatening to break the testing machine if that's what it takes to stop us.
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