December 7, 2007

7 :30 PM

Hello Friends,

It’s calmer than usual cause most of the inmates are off watching the DVD that we get every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Back in the day it was two videos per week and one more for major holidays, now it’s three per week and one or two more for holidays. There is on DVD/video player that’s controlled by an officer or death row inmate and every TV in the prison can pick it up, they are connected by a cable system. No, not “cable”! Just the same tools that feed eight channels, sometimes ten depending on the weather, to our televisions.

Viewing times are 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm on Friday and Saturday, 9:00 am Sunday and throughout the day the best ones will be replayed. I choose the late night to avoid the discomfort of sitting in a crowded TV room and on Sunday sit in the back of the dorm on a friends bunk to watch when the Sunday movie is replayed. Yes, I try to see every video that’s showed, the only other times I’m watching TV sports and the news. All they wanna watch are cop shows like CSI, NCSI, Prison Break, Cane and etc., the last thing I wanna see.

Speaking of that brings to mind how much I’m forced to still play cops and robbers. “Cops and Robbers” or “Cowboys and Indians” were childhood games and even then I didn’t wanna be the cops or cowboys. Perhaps an early indicator of being criminal minded? Anyway, due to the vast amount of archaic rules the Doc has for us to live under I’m having to avoid the police on such minor things. Which has me nothing the habits of the administration and the officers because I hate to make the same mistakes twice.

My violations are minuscule on the rector scale, but even being caught for them would mean I’ve not learned anything.

Prison should teach us a few things if common sense is present in our brains.
- Do not break the laws/rules
- Involve nobody in your business unless they are essential to the operation, chose him wisely.
- Learn from the mistakes of others in order not to get caught.
- Do not let your greed on another’s envy bring you down.
- If you cannot get away with breaking the rules you best not try.
- If they know about it they will talk about it!! Damn near everybody thinks they can trust one person, which is how secrets become rumors, rumors become gossip and gossip leads to investigations because rates come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
- Do not ever tell on yourself through words on actions.

Can I go without breaking the rules? Definitely. There isn’t a doubt in my mind because I realize what being a criminal has gotten me and how little I need to find happiness. A woman, good music and good food, that’s it. The reason I break rules now is I have little to lose and I hate to be denied whatever brief joys there are in here. Please keep in mind the type of rules I’m breaking ; eating twice so I can get extra French fries, not being clean shaved all the time, having too many sheets and clothes, and other things that I refuse to mention.

Going to read the newspaper and listen to the radio until it’s time to watch the movie.