REFLECTIONS FROM ELKTON

It has been a busy week here on Elkton Mountain.  I suppose you wouldn't think a person would be busy in prison, but it happens.  Even my cell-y is busy. Busy sleeping.  So I guess being busy is relative to what you want to do.  My cell-y is like a cat.  He sleeps most of the day and night and then eats whenever he can.  He is in debt to many people here for mooching from them.  I can tell when he has money sent from home as his debtors come around to the cube with their list of items they need him to purchase for them.  By the time he finishes paying off his debts he has nothing left for himself.  Although he seems to find a way since he is driven by the desires of his stomach.  He is my resident Garfield.

Over at the Suds & Duds we have been busy finishing out the year with boss Mr. Austin.  He is leaving for a few months to have carpel tunnel surgery.  His replacement for that time will be Mr. Wess, who is a nice boss as well.  He has a much different idea of how the Suds & Duds should be run so we adapt to his style of leadership.  He operates with much more efficiency and directness but has less tact when it comes to our customers.  Word spreads fast when he is running the business, as he does not let anyone slide on the rules. 

Being the only tailor here with access to these tools, I have a great opportunity to operate a hustle.  I am not allowed to modify uniforms unless directed by a boss, however, I can modify and repair personal clothing our customers purchase at our local WalMart (commissary).  Mr. Austin gives me and previous tailors great latitude to use the machine for this hustle as long as I get my assigned work done first (you would be amazed).  So I have customized socks, sweat pants, shorts, shirts, and many other things that fit under the arm of a sewing machine.  I get paid in stamps or my own WalMart order.  I really don't desire too much of this, as I don't want to deal with the details of the business.  Don't get me wrong here, I do like to earn the extra money and I enjoy the challenge of the work.  It's the other parts that I don't care for like: finding the customers, working up the invoice and collecting.  I have too much reading and studying to do and, of course, there is the occasional nap to factor in as well.  Thankfully, I have a business manager who does some of the parts I don't like to do.  Anywho, Mr. Wess is not so accommodating with the hustle.  I am told that he will allow some minor work on a case-by-case basis.  If I had a sign on my cubicle advertising my business I would have hung a sign over it that reads; "Gone fishing for the next 3 months".  It is nice to have a break from the extra work.  Our days are much shorter now.  We start at 6 am and done by 9 on most days instead of 11 or 12. 

My business manager goes by many nick names; Pablo, Phillipe, Columbia, Speed boat, speedy and a few others.  He is my co-worker from the Suds & Duds, who was extracted from international waters near his island of San Andreas just off of Columbia.  The Dutch and US Coastguards tracked him and his friends as they were traveling at a high rate of speed in one of those long boats you may have seen in the old television show, Miami Vice.  His boat had three large outboards on it.  They took them into custody along with their cargo, which is estimated to be around 3 million dollars.  Then they sank his boat to the ocean floor. Hence the nick name speed boat and Pablo Escobar.  

He is a very nice gentleman with very broken English.  I don't understand most of it but I get the general flow as long as I devote 100% of my attention to him.  He speaks in body language using hand motions and gestures, which act as a sort of sign language.  They carry more meaning to me than the guy who faked his sign language for Mandela's memorial service.  Ted also uses sound effects to help dramatize what he is talking about. He makes us laugh with some of them and we mimic those sounds.  When I was still training on the sewing machine, I was very slow as I concentrated on coordinating my work.  He would come over when he was frustrated by my slow speed and say "go..go..go.go.go.go...!!!" and then he would use hand gestures for me to go faster which looked like a speed boat throttle being pushed to it's maximum.  What also helps me understand him is when he goes on and on about something that I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about and he knows this because of the blank look on my face, he will stop and annunciate the phrase  " Da point is dis..." and then proceed to summarize what he spent the last 5 minutes explaining.  These conversations can be quite tiresome but I endure them. 

He was best friends with the old tailor until his departure, but it seems that I have also taken the title of best friends with him now.  He likes to be in control of people and often manipulates them when allowed.  I push back when he does this to me and he gets this sad dejected look in his face and announces  "U hard to handle!!".  He is the leader of the two tables near the television, which is mostly tuned to the Spanish channels.  He let's me sit there and has made it clear to the other Spanish speaking Mexicans and Dominicans that I am given rights to a chair at this table.  This works out good for all of us, as I will sit on the side with my back to their TV so I can watch the other TV's broadcasting in English.  I like to play solitaire (with the old fashioned cards) when I do watch the occasional movie.  I find my self getting frustrated when Pablo tries to help me with the game.  I had to explain to him that solitaire is NOT a two player game.  So now when I make a move with the cards that I may have missed he sighs with relief.

Pablo finds work for me here and makes the connection.  He brings the work to my cubicle and I get it done.  I give the finished product to him for delivery and brings me the payment.  I share the profit with him, so everyone is happy.  It works out well like this.  Once in awhile we I make an error in communication, as it gets lost in translation.  This happened with some custom socks.  The good thing is that we had extra socks to solve the problem with.  All the work is sanctioned and approved which keeps me safe.  The last weeks of December, Pablo kept me very busy to finish the work.  We knew that the business would have to take a break for a few months so we needed to get it done.  I am so glad to be on vacation!  Our days are shorter and my naps come earlier.

Pablo received some good news last month.  He petitioned the court to listen to his argument, as he not a US Citizen and feels that that should have been under jurisdiction in the Dutch courts.  He has received notice that he was granted a hearing in February down in Florida.  This means I may never see him again.  They may not give him much notice and he will be transported closer to where the court hearing is located.  If he is granted his request, he could be released to his home for the time he has served already.  If this happens, he will go back to work for his dad on the fishing boat.  This boat is slower and has room for legal cargo. 

New years eve was pretty quiet here.  Count time was 9:30 and afterward the lights went off.  I went to bed and listened to music till I feel asleep.  Jeannie had me look up a song from the group “Downhere” that she liked and I put it on my MP3 Player.  It was nice to listen to good worship music and fall asleep to it.  The worst part is there are not many places I can audibly sing along with it no matter which key I am in  (The right key or the wrong key).  Sometimes I sing along quietly in my bunk but people still notice.  It hasn't started a revolt yet, but I need to be careful.  If you put enough wrong notes in the wrong key it could lead to a disaster. 

New Years day was a good time to sleep in, so I did.  Lunch was a special lunch.  They cooked up some Cornish game hens for us, which seemed almost too refined for a group of inmates.  We did not complain and enjoyed the meal just the same.  We had mashed potatoes with lumps in them.  I am always concerned when I eat something here with lumps in it.  I'm just not sure what those lumps are and where they came from.  We get lumps in food all the time but we don't want to lose a tooth working through it.  The good news was the lumps were part of the potatoes they mashed.  The gravy had some sliced mushrooms in them, which is not what we normally get.  The stuffing was pretty good but nothing like at home.

I spent some time in reflection of the past year.  The snow was falling as another Nor-Easter rolled in on the East Coast.  I love watching the snow fall outside my window and listening to praise music from my MP3 Player.  The wind was so strong that the snow was blowing off the grass and gathered in a drift outside my window.  The drift formed a crisp line on the crest of the drift.  As the drift tapered down to the grass you could see wavy lines etched into the snow that looked like an ocean beach, a very white ocean beach.  During the day the sun reflects its brightness in the new snow and it is reflected like crystals in everyway I look at it.  The drift reminds me of my childhood growing up at Cameron Place.  The snow was deeper then and the drifts were much larger.  I remember digging tunnels in the drifts. I called them forts, which become a shelter from the wind. I loved to see the light as it shown through the deep and crusty snow.  The brighter it got the closer I was to the edge of the drift. It was a good time in my life then. Life was simple back then; pure, clean, and exciting.  Like the snow.

I thought about being separated from my wife, my kids, my grand kids, my parents and my siblings on both sides of the family, and my friends.  Then I thought about how quick this year had passed by.  Now it is 2014.  It will be 2019 when I get out. This is not much time, when you consider how long are lives are.  It is not long at all, when you think about life in terms of eternity.  Seven years are but a blip on the line of life.  God has blessed me this passed year.  He has shown me how He has a better plan than I can ever imagine.  What He did in the 18 months before I moved into this “gated community” was so rich compared to what others here went through.  He has a plan for me these 7 years.  Moses spent 40 years in the desert.  Paul spent time alone after his conversion.  Maybe this is my desert.  My training ground.   My testing period.  What ever it is, I need to trust God for what He has for me.  I need to follow Him even when the wind blows the snow around on a cold day.

January 3rd marked the day I was moved from the “hole” to the place where I live now.  I will never forget that day, as it was liberation from a dark place where the lights never turn off.  I remember being shackled and having to carry all my belongings while I did the shackle shuffle.  Not quite like the truffle shuffle.  I remember when they opened the door to the outside it was so bright I had to squint my eyes to see.  There was so much snow on the ground reflecting the sun it was blinding.  I remember how cold it was and feeling the fresh air in my lungs.  I remember the overwhelming fear of the unknown where I was going.  I remember being afraid to leave my cubicle, as I did not know where I could be or what I could do.  I felt like I needed to escorted like I was in the SHU.  None of this mattered as long as I was out of the hole.  It was a new freedom. 

A year has past by and I see such a contrast to those feelings.  This is my home for now until I can be at my own home.  I am comfortable in my surroundings; perhaps too comfortable at times.  I know where I can go and what I can do. I see the faces of the new guys that come in and I see the fear in their faces.  I don't want them to feel like I did for as long as I did.  So I try to put them at ease.  I keep some extra items; they may need, in my locker. We just had a new guy arrive Friday near me.  His new cell-y was working with him to train him in, so I gave them space.  There is nothing worse than being new and having a mob of people around telling you information that you will never remember.  You are still trying to figure out who is giving you trustworthy information and who is messing with you.  I had forgotten to purchase shower shoes, deodorant, toothbrush, soap and a few other things I normally keep at the ready for new fish.  Fortunately, there are others who do the same and they had a kit.  I had some ear-plugs and extra razors, comb, toothpaste and a few other items that he may need so I brought them over to him after the crowed dissipated.  I also gave him a long sleeve shirt and an extra t-shirt, since he will not get official clothing issues until Monday when our department opens up. It is acts of kindness like this that help put these guys at ease, as someone had done for me a year ago.

I spent some time walking the cold and snowy track.  I put on my long underwear, warm gloves, extra socks, the size 14 Timberline boots I received when a guy left this past summer. I made a new playlist on my MP3 player and I decided to use the big headphones, as they would keep my hat from sliding off my ears.  The track has been empty on these cold days; mostly because of the cold but also because it is very slippery where it is well traveled.  So I walked on the edge where the drifts built up and no one else was walking.  I made my own path.  These oversized boots I wear make me feel like I am snowshoeing; a sport I have come to love, as it is something my wife and I can do together without hurting her knee.  We can usually bring the dog with us.  It is so fun when the three of us can get into the woods of Wisconsin and walk the trails in the deep quietness of winter.  These are the memories I hold on to while walking the nature trail on Elkton Mountain.  It makes me feel closer to home.

So now I can look forward to a new year.  There will be many changes here even in our routine little world.  But I look forward to the changes that God has for me:  changes of the heart, increase in knowledge, and opportunities to serve Him.  I hope that you had a good opportunity to reflect back on your past year.  Join me in looking forward.  Let's not be trapped in failures and short-comings.  Instead let's embrace the power that God displays in the middle of our inadequacies.  Let's depend on Him instead of ourselves.  Let's surrender our desires and will to the One who created us.

That's the news from way up here on Elkton Mountain.  May God's Mercy and Grace surround you this next year!

McFreedom