The prison has been in Red or Yellow Covid modified operations since I arrived here. That means controlled movements where foot traffic through the compound is prohibited unless it's during the 5 minutes between when a call is initiated and when it ends. The two...
Every morning at breakfast we are offered oatmeal, 2 cartons of milk, a donut and an apple. In terms of mealiness and instantaneous browning upon biting into said apple, the consistency across the board is astounding. On the weekends, if you are so lucky and...
When it came to prison, I feared all the wrong things. That fear often affected the time between sentencing and self-surrender. You don't know what you don't know and I can't change the past but a lot of what I was worried about didn't come...
Last Saturday we had a snowstorm and the power went out across the entire compound. When all the lights go off in a prison inmates immediately jump into action. I should have assumed nothing less would occur. The night started like many other evenings this...
Everyone relies on this relic of telecom technology to stay in touch with the outside world. I am glad we have access to telephones - not all prisoners throughout the history of the world can say they had as much. No matter what the phone...
It's almost March and this one slipped away from me. So while the holiday's feel like a LONG time ago, I recently pulled out a gift I was sent (I'm counting all the Christmas cards as gifts too) and felt it proper to still share...
On Thursday nights part of the gym is cleared for full-court basketball. The games can be contentious and therefore include three referees, two score keepers, and the bleachers are full. Full disclosure - there are only two sets of bleachers, but still. My car works...
If one year ago I was asked what diesel therapy is I would have guessed it's the act of getting in a pickup truck and driving out to the countryside for fresh air and wide-open spaces. Something you might hear about in a country music...
Monday January 31st was an exciting night over in Yankton. As exciting as it can get in prison. After being in covid quarantine, then testing positive and being moved to covid isolation, and then finally moved back to quarantine after 11 days in isolation, February...
On the morning of January 6th at 8:43am we hear the page over the intercom: "All inmates return to your housing unit, all inmates return to your housing unit." I could feel the collective sigh in the air. We all knew it - Covid had...