INSIDE THE FENCE: The Blessing of Employment (part two)

...Every night the 2nd shift cops post a list of appointments and job changes on the glass-enclosed bulletin board.  Most of the time these reports are taped to the wall.  Either they cannot find the key to open the glass doors, or they are just too lazy to put them inside.  I believe it is the latter, personally.  My name was on the job change sheet for all to see.  It was now official that I would have a job outside the unit!  More people were approaching me and asking how I was able to get that job.  It wasn't me, it was my God that provided this opportunity.  I just didn't have the courage to say it like that.  But it is true, God did arrange this.

It must seem odd to you that I was so excited about my new job in the laundry.  This is prison and the pay is 12 cents per hour!  Why would I be excited?  I needed to feel normal in a very abnormal place.  I didn't want to be confined inside the unit housing all day as an on-call janitor.  I wanted a routine that would take me outside the housing.  I wanted to work with a team.  I wanted some dignity.  And I wanted a job that my hero, Chuck Colson, held when he was in prison.  I read about his work in the laundry in his book "Born Again". God honored me with this opportunity.

The laundry department is in the mall on the East side of the compound.  It is between the medical department and the barber shop.  Inside there is a small area for "customers" to wait for service, with a wooden bench and two fitting rooms.  There is a stainless steel counter top that separates the waiting area from our working area.  One end of the counter flips up so we can pass through.  On the North wall there are three large industrial washing machines that sound like jet engines when they are in the spin cycle.

If they weren't bolted to the floor, I'm sure they would take off in flight.  On the East wall we have three large built-in dryers.  The dryers put out enough heat that they could be used as convection ovens, if we had a shelf to put food on.  These dryers have a potential to ignite fires if they are not monitored carefully.  This has not happened here, but it has at other prisons.

On the South wall is our tailor station, complete with a commercial singer sewing machine.  Next to this is the Commanding Officer's office.  The floor in this room is concrete with a glossy waxed finish.  The room is very bright and clean.  I believe it is the cleanest area in the facility.  There are six inmates on the laundry detail.  One man, Ted, who is from a small island off of Columbia and speaks broken English, is in charge of the washing machines and buffing the floor.  Jeff is in charge of the dryers.  He is the youngest (mid-20's) and struggles to work as a team.  He is always trying short cuts, which I attribute to laziness, which usually backfire on him.  They provide us with comic relief and frustration at the same time.

Dave is our uniform store room manager.  He is the unofficial assistant to the C.O.  and manages the inventory.  He is also the one who recommended me for this position.

Garza is from South Texas and our official translator for Ted...at least he is when he can "stand" him.  Sometimes it takes him a while to understand his broken Spanish before he can explain it to us.  Many times he simply shrugs his shoulders indicating that he has no idea what Ted has said to us.  Garza is our tailor and does a great job with repairs and alterations.

Alex and I serve as orderlies of our department.  We keep the clean room clean.  We also fold the sheets and blankets as they come out of the ovens.  Alex moved to the USA many years ago and speaks pretty good English.  Sometimes he is hard to understand as his Portuguese accent is very heavy.  He is very patient with me and willing to repeat himself when I don't understand him.  He is my age and maintains a comb-over to cover the space where hair once used to grow.  He was given the nickname "Belvis", as he is our Brazilian Elvis.  He likes Elvis music and the whispy comb-over and his triangle lamb chops give his nickname definition.

Since I have joined the department, we have come a long way as a team.  We are developing a bond that goes beyond our work time.  We all live in the same unit so we are around each other most of the time.  We spend time waiting for lunch together and we hang out in the Spanish corner of the television room.  I really need to learn the Spanish language!!!

We have two cops who supervise us.  There is only one on-duty at a time.  They are both nice to us and treat us as employees instead of inmates.  This takes a while to get used to.  They talk about their personal lives to us and tell us stories from other prisons they have worked at in the past.  They treat us with respect, which in my mind is the best part about working in the laundry.  Both cops have been at this institution since it opened in 1997.  They both know exactly how many days they have left before they can retire and recite them much like inmates who can recite how many days they have left until they are released.  They, like us, must do their time here.  The difference is they are here voluntarily.

Both of them have very different ways of operating the department, which forces us to adapt how we behave with each of them. Despite their unique styles, they get along well with each other.  Mr. Wess runs a tight ship.  All customers must interact directly with him as we stand by for instructions.  He is very intimidating to customers as he frequently will berate them to make a point or establish his position of authority.  There are many times I felt really bad for the man who was the recipient of his disparaging rant.  After the victim leaves with his dignity trailing behind him, the C.O. turns to us and makes comments to justify his behavior as though we need to validate him.  Because he is like this, I have cautioned my friends to avoid asking him questions when he is on duty.  One of my friends did not heed my advice and tried to exchange a long sleeve shirt for a short sleeved one.  This C.O. told him no, while I watched as my friend was refused the request.  In a split second my friend turned and looked at me.  This happened so quick but it felt as though it was happening in super slow motion.  His mouth opened and he began to ask me a question.  I stood in horror as he started to ask me, "What day should I..."  Thankfully he realized how wrong it was to finish the rest of the question and stopped!  He then walked out of our store.  The mere fact that he was asking ME the question in front of a cop is very dangerous because it challenges his authority and put us both at risk for further abuse.  I spoke to my friend later that day and explained the peril he put me in with his "near" question.

Mr. Austin is the other cop who is much more relaxed.  He allows us more freedom while we work.  He welcomes special requests and will be fair about it.  He will treat inmates with dignity and will reject requests with kindness.  There are days our tailor wishes he would say no to some of the requests that come in.  He is kind to us and goes out of his way to offer us perks.  He gave us all two long sleeve t-shirts, which are rare here.  He bought a box of gel pens and gave us one to use at work and for personal use.  He allowed us to take some pine-sol back to our cubes so we can clean them better.  He had our tailor customize my shirts for me.  The shirt tales are short and my torso is long.  So he had the tailor cut up three good shirts and sew them on to my shirts so that I would not have to keep tucking my shirt in.  He goes out of his way to work with us and make it nice to work for him.

I mentioned earlier that being treated with respect by the C.O.'s was all I needed in exchange for my work.  As it turns out, they still pay me a wage.  Last month I was paid $28.50 for my labor!!  However, I discovered the other benefits that come with the job.  Every month we get extra hygiene products.  I get an entire bottle of laundry detergent for personal use, extra razors, extra soap, extra toilet paper, brewed coffee (yum), extra socks, boxers, and t-shirts, extra writing tablets.

This may not seem like much to you, but these are great perks to have as they are more than others receive.  I give some of these items away to others who need them.  All of these items are given to me.  Nothing is taken without permission.  The previous laundry detail was stealing large quantities of supplies and selling them back to inmates.  They were all fired for that reason.

I am undeniably blessed by God to have this job.  The job provides definition to my day.  It is meaningful, and I get and give respect while I am there.  I have good friends to work with, even if I struggle to understand them at times.  Going to work makes me feel a little more normal than I did as an orderly in the unit.  Being normal in an abnormal environment is the key to surviving prison.  I see men here who walk around like zombies, lost in their misery.  I refuse to join them and with the power of the Holy Spirit, I can conquer this place!!!

May God bless you, May His Spirit be upon you...

McFreedom