My last post was a mix of optimism and the Zen that accompanies the acceptance of being in prison aided by a fast-approaching release date. I found myself having a profound appreciation for the parts of the experience I actually enjoyed. When you’re going to be...
Prison fosters a training ground for learning how to be content. Incarceration requires experiencing concepts we know to be true, even if they are challenging to live by. I've written before on how happiness is this vague concept that people spend a lot...
You don't throw things away in prison, and you definitely don't take them home with you. So what happens with everything you have when it's time to leave? The bidding begins. When someone asks if they can put a bid on something what they're really saying...
Every night around 9:55 pm a red light comes on, indicating that it's time to head to your bunk for standing count. We're counted multiple times each day. At 8 am, 12 pm, 4 pm, 10 pm, and throughout the evenings at midnight, 3...
Before coming here I rarely read books. I didn't make the time, or if I had time, I turned on Netflix. I also had littleinterest in fiction, feeling that if I was going to spend time reading, I should be learning. However, we watch TVand...
At the time, it didn't feel like the right move. In the end, I think it was. In reality, it was out of my hands. Into my second month here I enrolled in classes through the education department. My family and the coordinator helped chase down...
Another common conversation: "I want to lose more weight but my bench press will suffer." Well bud, no one cares how much you can bench and it's not going to help you once you leave. What I care about is longevity. How can I continue...
I recently picked up on the technical meaning of the numbers following the acronym SPF - Sun Protective Factor. An SPF of 15 would imply that the sunscreen provides protection for 15 times longer than going without. If your skin could last ten minutes in...
Mackerel as a Means of Currency Among the Incarcerated: A Retrospective Analysis Inmates are never short on creative ideas and they've created many solutions to the lack of cash in prison. Most compounds use stamps as a form of currency. Universally accepted, inflation protected, and easy...
Spare the last month, the softball field has been closed for the entire time I've been here due to Covid imposed restrictions. Even with the closure, I heard the lore from other inmates - softball in Federal Prison is a huge deal. One guy half-joking/half-serious...