DEFINING "FREEDOM", Part 3

....I spent the afternoon exploring the barracks.  I watched others to learn the unwritten rules and procedures.   My cell-y was quick to teach me about the stand-up counts.  This is a "sacred" routine that occurs at 4:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on weekdays.  We are required to be in our cubes and stand quietly next to our bunks while two guards walk down each hall and count us.  This is their "inventory" routine and it is treated with the highest respect and reverence.  If the guards numbers do not match, they perform a recount.  If an inmate is caught not standing or talking, the guards will stop and yell at the man.  If they give you a "write-up", you may get a vacation at "Camp SHU".

Going Outside:

The building that I am in now only houses the four barracks and offices for the staff who manages us.  There is one office near the exterior door which is occupied by guards 24/7.  There are two or three guards per floor.  They do have cameras mounted through the barracks to help them monitor us.

At meal time, they call out on the loud speakers two barracks to line up.  We stand in the hallways until they open the door.  There is usually a stampede to march across the compound to the dining hall.  The line is long and extends outside under the eaves of the building.  It can be a long, cold wait on some days.  Once inside there is a long stainless steel serving counter.  On the other side of the counter are inmates who serve the food onto the trays.  A guard stands at the end of the line to make sure there are no special requests being honored.  The men serving the food are lifeless and mechanical.  Nobody seems to take any pride in what they do.  This is reinforced by the staff.  There is another serving island where they put bins of lettuce and the drink dispenser.  The dispenser has poorly mixed fruit drinks, which need to be diluted with water.  There are more staff members congregating along this island, making it difficult to get around them.

There is not enough table space to seat 300 men.  If you want to sit with friends you will be challenged, as the tables only seat four and it is rare to have more than two seats open at a time.  This makes for opportunities to meet new people, but there isn't much time to talk as we are encouraged to eat quickly and get out.  They serve a lot of carbs, the vegetables are boiled until any flavor is gone, and the main course can often be a mystery.  None the less, I am thankful for what we have.

After dinner, one of the Christians I met took me on a tour of the compound.  We started on the West end of the services building.  The first office is the medical center.  Next to that is the laundry room.  Next to it is the barber shop and then the commissary (or store).  On the other side of the cafeteria is another hallway with several offices.  There is a law library, a small reading library, three classrooms for G.E.D. and other official classes.  There is a Rec Room with three pool tables.  In the back of the rec room are a couple of other small rooms for music and hobby crafts.  Next to the rec room is a work-out room with spinning bikes, treadmills, and step machines.  They also have a ping pong table and foosball table.  This may sound like a large area but the rooms are small and crowded.

The building takes a turn here for the chapel services area.  There are a couple of rooms that are used for different groups of beliefs.  At the end of the hall is a two story square room which serves as the former chapel.  The chapel is very industrial looking with no decorations that would make you think it was a church.

We walked outside and he showed me more of the compound.  Behind the building is a frame of a wigwam, which they use as a sweat lodge for the Native Americans.  There is a twelve-foot fence, complete with coils of razor wire that surrounds the compound.  Outside the fence is a service road the guards drive to patrol the perimeter.  In comparison to what I saw in Terror Hut, this facility is much more relaxed and not as intimidating.  At one time, they did not have a fence around this property.

I was still feeling overwhelmed by this place.  It was so much to take in.  Despite feeling overwhelmed, I wanted to explore more so I decided to take a walk on the track.  I noticed others on the track, so I assumed it was safe for me to be there too.  It was a crisp night, but that didn't matter to me.  I walked the track 3.5 times to make a mile.  Although a mile walk is not very long, I found myself to be exhausted after the walk.  My legs ached from using muscles that hadn't been used for 48 days in the SHU.  I need to start with shorter daily walks, I think!

While I walked on the crunchy snow, I thanked God form my release from the SHU and my new found freedoms.  The track is close to the perimeter fence, so I could see the terrain around me.  The compound is on a small plateau surrounded by a steep ravine on either side.  The ravines are heavily wooded.  With the leaves off the trees, I can see some houses below.  One of them has a dog that barks a lot, which is a nice sound to hear.  Overall, this is a very nice place.  Set in the hills of Eastern Ohio, there is a lot of freedom for a prison.  I'm sure it won't take long before it feels small and constricting.

It is a very strange feeling to be put into prison at my age.  To leave the freedoms of home and be confined to a small cell only to be moved into a crowded, less constrictive environment.  It forces me to realize how good my life was on the outside.  I think we forget how good it is to have these freedoms.

I see a parallel with our Faith in God.  As Christians, we often get comfortable or complacent in our relationship with God.  We learn to have a sense of entitlement.  Meanwhile, we forget who God is and what He has done for us, until we have a crisis in our life.  We have a wonderful privilege in our country with our religious freedom.  However, I think we take this freedom for granted.  How can our Faith grow if we are not challenged to prove our faith?  I wonder what the Christians in North Korea, China or Russia think about the Christians here in America?  Christians who are persecuted for their faith either grow stronger or leave the faith.  There is no middle of the road for them.  Revelation 3:16 says, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

I may have lost my physical freedom here in prison, but I am free on the inside and I am blessed to have my religious freedoms.  It is my hope and prayer that I will not become lukewarm here.  I want to be on fire for God.  This is not normal for me, so I will need help from the Holy Spirit.  I have a long way to go to meet this goal, but I will start where I am at this point.  It is time to PROVE MY FAITH!!!

Greetings from  McFreedom