HOW I SPENT MY 52ND BIRTHDAY:
"I turned 52 in prison doing life without
parole...." Or so goes the lyrics
from an old Johnny Cash tune. The years
were changed to reflect the author AND the sentence is wrong.
Today was my birthday here and I didn't tell anyone. I decided I wanted to forego the birthday sentiments
from here and grow old quietly and gracefully.
I thought you might be interested on how my day was spent today. So here
is a how my birthday went today.
I missed my wake alarm at 3:45 and slept to 4:12. I was tired because my bunkie reads late at
night and eats crackers from the noisy bag ,which kept me awake. I decided not
to make it an issue. Despite my late
awakening, I still had plenty of time to have my quiet time with God. It is the best time of the day when people
are snoring and the farts are minimal. I
could see outside my window that it was foggy.
This means our schedule was going to be messed up. The lieutenant does not like foggy days, as
they believe we are all going to make a run for it. Therefore we often do not go to work. There
is a heightened sense of security when ever the visibility is reduced for fear
of us slipping out of sight and scaling high fences and navigating through the
coils of razor wire and dodging the bullets from the guard in the truck. I guess it is possible one could make it out
but not likely alive.
I checked the headlines on Fox and CNN to learn that ISIS is
advancing, Ebola is multiplying, and they are still looking for flight 370, and
a debate about a fan. This is also the day the workers at the Suds & Duds
bring in our sheets and blankets and wash them at work. It is one of the perks we get in the
department. I decided not to bring my
bedding in and made my bed. I walked over to the other side of the lodge and
looked out the windows on the compound.
It looked like the fog was moving out and that we would likely go to
work after all. So I grabbed my bedding
and went to work when we were called.
6:00 am at the Suds & Duds. The morning started out
fairly normal after a near miss with the
fog. We watched the fog ebb and flow on the compound and waited to see if they
would call a fog watch. I was sewing
buttons on a uniform when I heard my counselor page my name to come and see him
back at the lodge. At 7:30 I walked across
the compound to see and discover that he had updated my visitation list with a
friend from Marshfield. One of the four
wise men from our small group at Northridge who are making plans to come and
see me. I checked my e-mail while I has
in the lodge and found several from Jeannie.
I took my time reading them, enjoying every word. I like her e-mails. After a quick read, I
headed back to work only to meet my coworkers in the middle of the yard walking
back to the lodge. The lieutenant called
a fog watch and closed the Suds & Duds.
I left my coffee cup at work and so were my sheets. Oh well. So I went and watched more of the
same news for awhile and then listened to Charles Stanley give a message on the
Holy Spirit while I sat on my bare mattress.
8:30 Because of the fog watch they had to do a stand up
count to make sure that no one got lost in the fog.
It was after 9:15 when they cleared the fog watch so we went
over to the shop to finish our work. This is the time we normally head to short
line for our lunch so our boss let us go eat.
It was also the time I had a callout (appointment in your world) to see
the nurse. I assume this was for my
monthly B12 shot that I get. So I
decided to go to short line. I figure
that the medical office would be very delayed in getting to my
appointment. We waited as they got our
fried chicken ready and then came the voice, "Erbst report to
medical" Nuts! My second page for the day, which is very
unusual. There was nothing I could do
since I was locked in the dirty spoon for this meal. They will have to wait and
keep on paging me.
I finished my lunch and went over to medical and saw Ms.
Pembroke. I had my sleeve rolled up
ready for a shot and she told me that it wasn't necessary. I was confused and she explained that it was
my annual appointment to give me the hemocult cards to check up on the dark
side of the moon (If you know what I mean). Perhaps that was too much
information. She gave me the cards in a
bio-hazard bag and told me that I would be back the next day to get my B12
shot. It took every ounce of restraint
inside of me to keep from asking the question "Why not do them both while
I am here?" This would imply an
attitude by telling them there is a better way to their job. So I remained quiet and told her I would be
happy to come back the next day.
Now that this was done, I rushed back to work were we still
had to finish up the days work. I
proudly displayed my bio-hazard bag to my co-workers to make them jealous but
it didn't seem to work. Then several of
us headed over to commissary to pick up our shopping orders that we dropped off
with the commissary workers while we were in short line together. This is a privilege extended to us at the
Suds & Duds only. They room was
standing room only and people were waiting upwards to an hour or two to get
their orders filled. We had our orders
filled and we were out of there with in ten minutes. It is a nice privilege but it is awkward at
times when people are sneering at you going ahead of them. The commissary just brought out a new item
and I bought it. It was my coveted prize
for the day. A bag of Oscar Meyer Real
Bacon Bits! It was hickory
flavored. This was my birthday treat
today!
I went back to work and started hemming about a dozen brand
new pants for our stock room. Our boss
is replacing pants more frequently so I am keeping busy lately prepping
them. Around 11:50 am we were wrapping
up our work. Most of the guys left for the day but I hung around to do some
sewing work for my friends who needed repair.
I started work on an old pair of shorts that had holes and needed new
elastic. I should have advised him to throw them away as they were so worn
out. They had holes in them, and the
elastic was shot. The seam was coming
apart. I worked on that until 12:30 and
cleaned up for the day so the boss could lock up the shop and head home for the
day.
1:00 I was back at my cube and made my bed with the clean
sheets. I decided to skip my running
today and relax. I needed a nap but
first I made a peanut butter wrap with a banana that I got in short line
today. I left the apple on top of my
locker for a snack later. I laid down
and put my sleep mask on over my eyes while I listened to WORD FM. It was not long before I fell asleep.
I woke up at 3:00 and went to check e-mail. My celli, Nate, approached me and told that
me our cube had been “shook down” by a notorious unfriendly cop. He had a
reputation of being extremely rude and obnoxious. I asked him when it happened
and he told me in the last hour while I was sleeping. I scratched my head because it did not make
sense. The normal protocol for a shake
down like this is to dismiss the residence of the cube. After all, a staff
person should never turn their back on an inmate. So while I slept, the Poo-lice went through
our lockers looking for contraband and I did not even hear them. Happy Birthday! I went to see if I could see anything
missing. My apple was gone. I hope he
enjoyed it. I did not see anything else missing but then again it is a full
locker. It creeps me out that the cop
was two feet from head while I was sleeping.
But then again this is a creepy place.
4:00 Daily stand up count to make sure we didn't leave.
4: 10 Mail call. I
got some birthday cards but nobody caught on that it was my birthday. So far - so good.
4:30 we went to dinner.
Tonight's meal was scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy and potatoes. But I had a different plan. I brought my bacon bits, tortilla shells,
parmesan cheese and Adobo seasoning. I
made a bacon and egg breakfast burrito.
What a treat! I could taste the
bacon. My dinner companions could smell
the bacon. I offered to share it with
them but they turned it down. I am good
with that.
5:30 I returned the
manuscript written by our odd Chaplin about his anti-trinitarian belief back to
him to free up space in my locker. The title of the book is: "What the
Trinitarian Doctrine Misses". And yes, it is published. I wanted to tell
him how many ways he was wrong in his book but wisdom took over and I thanked
him for letting me read it.
6:00 Time for
desert. On Columbus Day they served us
single servings of pumpkin pie. I saved
my slice for today. I made a cup of
decaf coffee and went to the TV room to watch more of the broken news on CNN.
They were waiting for a helicopter to land at the Dallas hospital to take the
ebola virus to Washington. They must
believe it was important for us to watch this event. I sprinkled some cinnamon that was given to
me by a friend in the kitchen on my pie and slowly enjoyed it with my
coffee. I also had a kit kat bar to
satisfy my craving for chocolate. What a
great treat! Enough of this news.
6:30 called Mom and Dad to catch up. They are so proud of my nephew in his
recovery. They love to talk about their
visits to see him every week. I love to
hear about it. This blesses my heart to hear!
6:45 Checked e-mail and read the posts sent in by family and
friends. I was overwhelmed with emotion
as I read them. I realized how blessed I
am to have so many people who know what I have done and still love me. I know there are many men here who do not
have this kind of support. Many have not
even told most of their friends what happened to them. They don't know the freedom in being open,
honest, and transparent. To have true community even if that community is
spread out over several states. Thank
you my friends!
7:00 I went back to my cube and continued reading the Psalms
in my read through the Bible in a year plan.
It was quiet and very nice.
8:00 I took my beard trimmer to the bathroom and gave myself
a haircut to get ready for my visit tomorrow.
I asked Nate to help me with the back of my neck. No blood was shed in the process. This time.
9:00 Called my sweet bride to say hello. I love talking to her as she grounds me. She keeps me up to date on what is happening
in the family. 9:10 the line went
silent. We got disconnected.
9:30 Time for stand
up count. They need to make sure we are
still here.
10:00 Sat on my bunk praying. Too much distraction with people around me to
concentrate. Ugh!
11:30 Finished this e-mail.
Good night and God Bless you all!
McFreedom
