Friday 9/9/2011

Beautiful day for our 1-hour yard today. One of the small things to be grateful about. There is always a few guys on the hand-ball court, basketball court or soft ball field that get so serious over a simple error, and immediately want to "fight" about it... fortunately most guys just have fun and the anger passes. I'm just stunned though. With just an hour outside and only a handful of days in an entire year of great weather a guy would rather argue then simply enjoy the moment.

Saturday 9/10/2011

A surprise visit from my brother-in-law made for a special day. But the most memorable moment was seeing a humming bird stop just 4 feet away, just outside the window. He seemed to look directly at me and two seconds later shot off like a lightning bolt. That may seem simple, but it's been more than 5 years since I've seen a humming bird.
Watching a lot of football today and cleaning the cell.

Sunday 9/11/2011

A sad day. Lots of memorial programs on T.V. I haven't been able to watch. N.Y.C. is my home town and I feel helpless..

pg. 2

...and I am not in a place where I can allow my emotions to be visible. Someday I plan to visit the "Freedom Tower" and Ground Zero Memorial Park. No one here is talking about it. I don't know why. Some don't care and most don't understand.

Monday 9/12/2011

A good day. Great football games last night and more tonight. Bummed my Giants lost. The lack of pre-season training due to the strike showed. The Bears also got stomped, my current home of Chicago, but Greenbay did well for the Mid-West teams. Jets pulled it out in the end. Go N.Y.!
Slept peacefully. In here, every day changes without warning. Most nights are tense, or interrupted with needless noise. So a "peaceful" night is a true blessing.

Wednesday 9/14/2011

Laundry day. Fortunately our 2 assigned laundry men spend 14 hours of the 16 hours in a day (the time cell doors are unlocked) hanging around the machines. Reading, draining, studying, playing cards and scrabble. What that means for the rest of us is that our laundry is guarded. Since one guy dead lifts over 370 Lbs. no one dares to steal anything. Yes, that's a big problem. No one...

pg. 3

...is allowed to use the machines other then the assigned workers. So 15 laundry bags get piled up in the corner. Sometime during the long day your laundry is cleaned, but it's certain that some one is watching, waiting and plotting to grab your clothes out of the dryer. When all you have is $28.00 a month, if you work, $10.00 if you don't, a $10.00 sweatshirt becomes an item of great value. So to ensure extra care of one's laundry you might give the laundry guy a gift. Not a payoff! That is a "crime", punishable by tickets, job loss, segregation and possibly transfer. No... but a gift of the cake off your lunch tray... or lending a pen and paper when needed... just to help out... maybe sharing 1/2 your candy bar you bought from commissary etc...

Thursday 9/15/2011

Locked down. Don't know why. Just another reminder of how crappy life in prison can be. Used the extra time to study. Wrote some letters. Did some homework. Counted another day lost, but spent as wisely as possible. The worse part; always on edge, no control, everything normal or expected changes without warning.
Time for a cup of joe!

Good bye all,
David