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Show WEEKLY HCnCWDAViS NEW JOURNAL JULY 3, 1 ONSET f 83 tiW S, THURSDAY, JULY 3. 1 S30 2nd In Series lmm few welt H4 me running Here. running tNre, M io fake multitude i4 ted Mr the pU-u- i fK department W toh touk Jaf to ctw Me, After iM, I the Mth la lake a ted department w to h determined wEeittertviMl wulj N ehgi-M- e Me eWf Mh tHou w a sutatwnal trade, THe km M N U MI, i LkJ THIS IRRITATFD me mare llun anything, out ut the renuik without thinkin of the eonqarives. T H lute yog know I didn't mention Nuuw I fill it bij no Nurmi on my Hem in prison toduy, or luJ wy reason to N cvahuteJ in retards to my present situation. My God! Hut Happened everlwelse years o. I didn't think an issue us old at that would need to N Nought up again. I paused lo cauh my Neath. Vttut I dJ then Hat no formation in my present situation. I has c paid fur that crime more timet than you could ever imjine. I concluded my statement without luktnt my eyes off James. 1 HEN Of F I went toctohing iutc. I oat fird iued orange akin i Vo I came on f h iter, anj afier I o wtckt I lirujly gut my Muet. I spent neatly an hour getting suited up Mr what may Hat appeared to be an open debut in fashion. Leery pair ol jeant the clothing officer face me I baJ lo try on to make ure they fa correctly. Vt hen I pm my home. I tried on four pair before I wat candied. Ned came the Jacket, ttto.h El like a tecooJ glove. At far at underwear and toe kt, t look hat they pat c me, 1 didn1 bate any choice there. 1 w ouldn't pci my blue dun until after I bad been ciattdicd. lo R FLAX NOW, calm do n. We only w anted to pet a little more insight to your pervoruhty. I turned my head and looked directly at Lt. Devins who had directed the statement toward me. "Have I given you the insight you have Nen looking for?" I AIM) had orientation clavvct lo attend. One dealt and tittnnp procedure!, and the other at a lecture from the warden. Not a bad old boy, but he would have been better off if be had via) cd in the Army. lie wat try ing to run (hit priton at if ii were a bool camp for new reenntt. The lecture wat held in the auJitorium and in January it's one cold mamma up there. If t also t he tame place w here mot iet are tho n. where high school graduation it held and where the Prison I dlon Follies are hclJ. w itb mailing "HO FAR. I want to ask you a few questions in relation to your treatment letter. It teems you want to fmsih high school, get into a trade and gel at least two years of college, all at the same lime. Now do you realize that you are expected to meet all you has e stated cm paper and it may go bod for y ou at the parole board if you haven't complied w ith every tog you has e stated?" Yet, I understand all that. My primary concern it getting into tome type of program that w ill help me, not hurt me. AS FAR at the movies go. sometimes you would fell as if you were being punished for doing something wrong whenever you watched one of the films they Nought in. This was how things generally went except for the last weekend of the month. All the inmates one night asked to have the windows opened a little to allow fresh air in. our requests were denied or just not listened to. I WAS asked to step out of the room and into the main corridor to wait until they had reached a decision. It didn't take long. Five minutes later I was called in again. It it the finding of (his committee that you stay in (he confines of the medium security facility and await the results from the board of pardons before you can be referred to the minimum security facility. Until that time, you will be moved over to the other side of the block, w est side, until you can find a Job and maintain employment at least for a period of 30 days. At (hat time or you can put in a request for cither There is no guarantee you will get what you ask for but at least you will be eligible. Are there any questions regarding our findings?" AFTER AN hour of screaming and yelling, w e started making fires. We took our trash, toilet paper rolls, started lighting them to make things worse than they already were. We w anted to get our point across and we did. Class jars were thrown against the walls, the windows, smoke drifted into evcryoncs house and crept up the walls. Trash cans on the bottom deck were afire blazing like tomorrow would never get here. This all started at ten that night, by eleven the goon squad came in and everyone began to quiet down. Breaking out hoses, they began to put out the fires and take pictures of the damage that was done. By the time the squad finished it was nearly midnight and the windows were still shut. 1 WANTED to tell him he could take his findings and shove them up his nose. No Lt. Devins, I feel agreeable to the decision. Good, you will be on the move order tomorrow afternoon at three. That'll be all." WE STILL raised our voices in protest but didn't start anymore fires. It was nearly one in the morning before things came to a halt. I started drifting off to sleep, but not before I heard the familiar crank of windows being let down, down, down! The officers opened the windows completely! That night we got what we wanted, a little fresh air. own. The last few days of January went by pretty smooth. I had less than a week before I would be classified and that alone made me feel better. BY THIS time I had met and talked to a few more people and became a little more involved in people and their problems. What started out as getting to know people eventually got my name spread around the prison and before long I became a wanted person. Why? I wrote poetry and some of the inmates wanted to buy them from me to send to their wives or girl friends to impress them. Some of them I sold for two or three packs apiece, others I sold for coffee and stamps. Why not sell them, I had no one to send them to. Whatever an inmate had to offer I took. For the time being I was in business. THIS MONTH brought about changes that I was glad to see. I was to be classified and I had no idea what they were going to say to me until I stepped into their office, but I did know who was on the committee, part of which upset me. I waited in anticipation wondering what the outcome would be. I asked myself if I would be classified minimum security, or if I would be allowed to go to a vocational trade work or what. Finally, after what seemed like months of waiting, my day came. What they said to me didnt please me at all. I WALKED into the room and sat in front of a large oak table. Around the table sat Mr. Tuft, a case worker lllh it my fast ctmkion vmi, MuJ eomHUftJ.fi Mr, dome ifs4e w tone. T tee Here, accord, g ta your pad record, yog were eon smcJ in A7 rf avault while you were in the sat we, ttfut I want Id know is why yog didn't admit yog served tote in military prison for this Mfe ncef lo k BUT I also know violence isnt the way to go about it. The people that work here wouldnt do a thing for you unless you did it for yourself. They are not here to help you, they were here to get paid. Any type of rehabilitation that needed to be done you had to do it on your Mr. Jtod.pfie of the offi for ers in thige if the t tok I MrJ on; Mr, Jamrt, Lift I U, Inruns. who it Ntok Maty set Sgt, Mattel to officer lor pe of the het is under 1 1, JVvins Mr H eir Ftok, j, IVunt darted asking PC questions fad, I Hi Heir by your record, that you are Herr for auto thifts, Hit )ou ever Nett in n institution More r THEN CAME Ik pH deal Cel the EUJ lens. my temperature, chrk my ftoJ prepare, the It my Heart, ami my teeth, Now there a ptuMem, 1 was MJ I would Have la we the denud, I ram there I luJ my phuti-g- r ap h taken. One front and vhots, alt ike lime Holding a plate iih my k(l Hand ith my name an J number wi H. 1 Vo came ike part I osh all laa familiar with, getting my fingerprints, left Kan J furt. I ken right turn. I hat ink take neatly an kw of bat J wroMunf to f cl off. NEARLY AN hour passed before we were back in our cells again, but every five or ten minutes a cell from below me could be heard to open. By eleven that morning, all cells were opened again. I found out the eight men were taken off the block and put in maximum security pending an investigation for causing and inciting a riot. The windows were finally closed and everything re- turned to normal. But I learned something that day. If a person wants something to happen, something that will benefit not only himself but others as well, you have to get in the mans face and not back off. You have to let him know you are willing to stick to your guns, especially if you are right. wm ciiier, uh4 WHAT WE hadn't wanted was to freeze ourselves to death all night. It was ten below with a forty mile an hour wind. I had to put all my clothes on that night, slept under two blankets and wrapped both towels around my feet and arms to stay warm. It was a long night for me but I like all the rest survived. In a sense it was worth it. The following morning the place looked like it had been fire bombed like Hamburg or Dresdan was during the war. The bottom deck was a complete wreck. After Keith and I came back from chow.sthere was talk about putting everyone on 24 hour lock down pending an investigation of the disturbance. Several inmates refused to go back to their cells. Things were beginning to get out of hand. pv NOT QUTE, said James. I also saw in your military record you received a dishonorable discharge. "Check your records Mr. James. I received a bad conduct discharge. And no, I'm not going to get angry and try to hit you, because you would love that, and Im not going to give you the pleasure. . I WALKED out of their office. Sure I was angry, but I wasn't about to let them know. I couldnt help but feel like some kind of prize bull they had brought to market and were trying to auction. They treated me with indifference, with an atmosphere of, another ten grand in their pockets. Well, at least I would be off 6 p.m. lockup. I would be able to move around the institution a little more freely. First things first. I had to get my blue shirts. Two of which the clothing office will stamp my last name and number onto. Black on blue. HE ASKED me how they fit. I looked at him with a half smile on my face. Yeh, fits good. Now I feel as if I fit in with the crowd. Later that day I ran into Keith who was classified the same day and we decided to go to the gym and play pool. We didnt say much, our replies to each other were more like grunts or moans of approval when we started shooting. and the continued AS THE progressed, the ring-in- s waiting for things to happen, I decided to check out the AA program this weekend. I needed all the programs I could handle to make it look good when I went to the Board in July. N That night after lockup, Keith told me how scared he was about going to the Board. I dont know, I really dont know, he kept saying, they could give me a rehearing. I mean I was lucky getting my sentenced reduced from a five to life to a one to fifteen an all that, but If I get a rehearing, I wont stand a chance of seeing the baby born or even being with my wife or anything. She might even want a divorce. I LEANED my head against the bars and spoke softly, Keith one thing I have learned out of all the mistakes Ive made is dont judge what hasnt happened yet. Besides youre making a mountain out of a mole hill. Didnt you tell me yesterday you got a letter from your wife telling you she would wait for you, no matter how long it took! Yeh, I gues youre right. Its just that I dont want to lose her. Know what I mean? YEH KEITH, I know what you mean. It hurts to lose something you love. But dont start thinking that youll lose her, or you will. Think positive man, think that youll be out in a year. Think that the day you go to the Board your whole family will be there to give you support and carry you through the whole thing. Think about the baby thats due. Do you thing that girl will want a... Hey, wait a minute. What makes you think itll be a girl? I SMILED, dont know Keith, guess you could say I had a vision. Anyway, do you think that girl will want a father that is a quitter? What about it, are you a quitter? No, it isnt that, I just want to get out of here and start over again, raise my family without any hassles. To be a good father and a good husband. KEITH, as long as you continue to feel that way, I you will do and what you I paused for the cause dont have any doubts of what will be; just dont quit trying. 1 uM Kn'-ft. a m tit ta gu to utotoam to lotto uAJ Sow He would Kivg utiij mi ieeur.1) t He foulj a two w it to wad at mer, rriuifwj (a tel Hm know w s going la Ml tN t k fatly. Yij Eke fat, oto I K we you m tto morning Mf NeaUart, If w m aake, fcf me upwitJjog? KeiiH If jog gel up htoe get m up Oftj tore Me iHift MOKklSG IN the school department was a trip. I worked with all the imludin Fat who it a little if mmJ don't thing, rrttty Mmg, The only proMem tt the t married anj pregnant, to I had enough to do in helping Nr maintain order in Her ctavt. Movt of the guy t in her clavt had a tendency to play off their school work and try to nuke lime with Fat. Many tunes I had to tell the guys to cool their jets. One inmate, who Had Nen in prervon about two years, pulled me off to IN side after I Had Nen working there about two weeks tried giving me some advice. "Look man. Cm gonna give you some info, and you Niter make ue of it dude. See, this is privon. nut a school. You in prison. Im in privon. You wear a blue shm. I wear a blue shirt. If you dont keep your mouth shut when Im trying to gel some play, lm going to mess your face up. Understand? I HEARD what he said and nodJcd my hcaJ. then looking him squarely in the face I said sternly, Hcy, 1 want you to understand one thing right now. Pat is a lady, deserves to be treated like a lady. You dont ant anyone making a play for your girl w hen she comes to see you, so why dont you treat Pat with the same respect. What Im saying is this, if you don't like what I say or do, we can get it on right now. It don't matter to me. You might whip me, but you are going to get hurt. I promise you that. Now its your move Sumpter. What do you want to do? AFTER CLASS punk. Meet me in the gym and well find out who gets hurt. He stared into me as if I were dead meat, just waiting to be cooked, and quite frankly I felt I had bit off more than I could chew, but I wasn't going to back down, not after what I had said. THE REST of the day went smooth. Sumpter and I didn't say anything more to each other. However, w hen school was over that's w hen the action started. Both of us left together, walked down to the gym, and went into the far corner where no one could see us. As I started taking my shirt ofT, Sumpter hit me on the i right side of my forehead. I had to move quick. He was coming at me with an intense desire to rearrange my face. Again he swung, and again he tagged me on the right check bone and the underside of my chin. This had me spinning a little, but I managed to get my hands free, and began to block the next barrage of swings aimed at me. I NOTICED about seven or eight guys standing around cheering Sumpter on to beat me. No one was giving me any encouragement at all, and this alone got me mad and upset at the same time. When Sumpter came at me again, I ducked under a swinging right, came up underneath him and landed a hard right to his jaw. This backed him up about three steps, and then I came at him one more time, jabbed him twice with my left and landed a roundhouse right that put him down, and he stayed down. I THOUGHT it was over, but I was dead wrong. Two other guys grabbed me and one other started beating on my stomach until I thought I was going to throw up. The other two let me go and I fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes and was kicked several times in the back and chest. As they moved away from me I heard one of them say, nobody beats up my brother punk, and dont you ever forget it. Cmon guys, lets split. Did I ever hurt. But what hurt worse was the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt win, there are to many people in this place I had to fight if I wanted things to go right for me. At least my face wasnt damaged to badly, no big or ugly bruises to try and hide. Hell of a price to have to pay for being right about something. I came out a winner only to loose. Now thats what I call justice! I HAD made plans when I got off fish tier to attend an AA meeting but I kept putting it off until I felt I had the time. Well, I finally made the time and went to the meeting to check things out. I didnt know it then, but the people I met in AA were to end up being the only real friends I would have for a long time. Because AA is an anonymous group, I dant go into details that are said in each meeting, but I can say the reason I first went was to help me get some action when I went to the Board, but after I attended several of their meetings, and listened to what these guys were saying, I began to think a little more differently about myself and about what I wanted to use AA for. I began to get involved. I was on a cleanup committee for almost five months after I started going. I began to feel useful for the first time, and that felt good. ANOTHER THING about this group, it is based on trust and honesty, and when there are thirty or forty inmates in a group like this, you can adhere to their own rules without trying to make a play on somebody, or trying to get an AA officer to do something that isnt legal, then you know you have something good. I would go into my house at night after the meetings, I would ask myself if I was, or if I am an alcoholic. One of the hardest things to do is to admit to yourself who and what you are. It became a struggle for about two weeks before I finally gave into the truth, I am an alcoholic. I AM blowing my own anomity but I dont care. There is more to this story than my being an alcoholic, but getting back to what Im saying, the men in AA became the only real people I could relate with, and the only ones I could count on for support, help and understanding. Outside of Keith, I finally made friends for friends sake, not because I worked in the school department and Could get ink for tatoos, not because I write poetry for other people, but because I am me. And let me tell you, that is one beautiful feeling. and I I HAD put in my move order to go to was approved. Keith wasnt. That was sort of a bum- - tor IN kit. Sate thing I COl I JjST Hrlr Nil h.hk w hat I M jau MJ Ke hh about H hum (a Jos wmeoe yog love, I lowed 8nj lumrd foe pearl y 4 Hour Ntoe I t ried on wli to vleep, Not ewify Ntoe the werk wat uer 1 fmJ a wha wmeJ, Nut leouUii'l complain. Ngati wotl-t- n W the Htoid deportment it a traitor's de, lude u( ftoi tor w ec k I Neame a tutor. Hut itote w a eat h to the juh. (toy Mr. Lavkt oad my df knew that any inmaie w to wotked there Had to N a high shud t ad irate, Whkh I Waifl1, Nut I Hod an arrangement wot ked out that when my reewdv came in from Delaware, we would tee whalM was I needed and would take whatever teds were necewory to get my diploma. I figured ail 1 needed were two, ptiMy three credits. teg-aer- fftuve tHaflge agailt Knrt pa led with 4)r I iftovfj, I HaJ w M gnto Uwtov, t liter, I) NwU,l) pig pf p, UkayT M wtoh t me tto wtoie wwit, I even M a tNir gontotfeJ contraband that I (M With ti e, ltd. pia'.He, HHEN I w arptovrd. 1 1, iHvmt v,4d I w re quiirJ to maintain the rule aftj regulation and that any udiaeuoit would Have me removed Natk to the Hok I jurt Came fioffl-"ft- , Deviftt," I said, vHniT worry about a thing III N Me an angel met ttoi e. He son smiled and reptod, See to it that the angel ttoenl gel into anymore fishs whde He tt Her eiitor, I DIDNT change my foeiol arrearanee. Nut in the there w a a tmuh in the trow J tome here. "1 Haven't the foggiert idea what you are talking about, 1 don't get in trouble, you know that. Don't try to snow me. I know all about what happened in the gym and I don't mind say mg Sumpter didn't de wrve hat he got. Nut N careful in the future. You appear to N an intelligent pervon. and anmnd here you'll have to uc your Nams more than y ou firtv if y ou want to get ahead. Jurt rememNr that. He pauved for a minute, then added. 1 Eke you Hill. Hut I can't N reponviblc for anything that happens to you. The only alternative it Protection, if you want me to." No k uf my tnmd I knew PRO! 1 CTJON! Tor w hat? If y ou think Im going to spill my guts as to what happened and who was involved, you are crazy! I'll get along in here juvt fine. Bcvides, I have plans for my future, and if I go to Protection, I'U never N able to accompli dt w hat I want todo. Okay, have H your own way. Keep in mind what I said. Dont buck the inmates, and dont buk the system. Its a losing battle and youll end up getting hurl in the end or dead. I COT up from my chair, walked over lo the office door and ithout ever turning to face him I said, "Devins, you watch your back and dont worry about mine. I knew the advice he gave me was solid and sound. Why 1 tried to play hard w ith him I dont know unless it is that one part about Ning an inmate and the image a man has to live up to, I dont know. But I didn't have any trouble for quite a long time. LATER THAT same day I was paged to go to the dental lab. This part I hated. Mr it meant 1 w as to get my teeth pulled. I remembered about a week prior to this appointment, I went there for an examination and the dentist looked into my mouth and asked, Have you taken drugs in your life? I was taken aback by that saying. Wait a minute, check my medical records, you'll find out I have never used any drug except alco- hoi, and most drugs that can be had only by prescription 1 . ' , . . cant take! Relax, if you haven't Nen using drugs, you must N seventy years old and well preserved for your teeth look ' that Old. WELL, IT'S a combination of a lot of things Doc. One is I've had bad teeth for as long as I can rememNr, and the other is I never took care of them the way I should. I want you back here in one week. Those teeth have got to come out. HERE I was again, back in the dental chair getting ready to have them all come out. Top and bottom alike. Say Doc. How long will it N before I get my de- ntures? HARD TO say. If everything goes right, after we wait for the swelling to go down, let's say 30 days, we can go ahead with impressions and after three or four of those, we can have you fitted and pretty well intact. Right now we are looking somewhere around May. I waited this long, I guess a few more months wont kill me. ABOUT THREE that afternoon, an hour alter he started, my mouth was empty. He told me not to smoke for 24 hours, to stay with soft foods for the next three meals, and come back to let him check my gums. : : i An hour later, I smoked about six cigarettes, ate pork ; chops for dinner that night, and never had any prob-- : : lems. I WASNT on the block two weeks before a new order s came from the adminstration office saying that all in- -. would have to move to either mates on or go back to or go to the farm because into Protection and a ' they were going to turn ; compound for 24 hour lockups. This infuriated all the inmates who lived there as the ; block is quiet and peaceful. We tried to approach the staff in a respectful and dignified manner, but this ob- viously was something they couldnt understand, so we i tried another way which seemed to do the trick. EACH INMATE wrote on a sheet of paper that their i life was in danger and demanded to go to Protection.: : Staff took one look at the 80 requests, said we were all : insane, and would grant our request. But inside of eight I hours the rest of the inmate population was ready to back our play. j j Kitchen staff, mostly inmates, refused to prepare: another meal, plumbers refused to work, electricans : were unable to work, and all because they felt their lives.' i were threatened, and like us demanded to go to Protec- - i ; : tion. -- I NOTICED about seven or eight guys standing: : around cheering Sumpter on to beat me. No one was: : giving me any encouragement at all, and this alone got: : me mad and upset at the same time. : : When Sumpter came at me again, I ducked under a: swinging right, came up underneath him and landed a : hard right to his jaw. This backed him up about three' : steps, and then I came at him one more time, jabbed him; twice with my left and landed a roundhouse right that J : put him down, and he staved down. I THOUGHT it was over, but I was dead wrong. Two : other guys grabbed me and one other started beating on : my stomach until I thought I was going to throw up. The-other two let me go and 1 fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes and was kicked several times in the back and ' chest. As they moved away from me I heard one of them: : say, nobody beats up my brother punk, and dont you: : ever forget it. Cmon guys, lets split. . j Did I ever hurt. But what hurt worse was the fact that ; no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt win, there are to many people in this place I had to fight if I wanted things : to go right for me. At least my face wasnt damaged to badly, no big or ugly bruises to try and hide. Hell of a; price to have to pay for being right about something. I came out a winner only to loose. Now thats what I call justice! ; (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK) . |