DannyBoyinExile

Legend has it that many years ago (“back in the game “, as we say here), the inmates who worked in the fields stayed out there ALL DAY, and they’d simply take a break while their lunch was delivered to them in a sack. (That part isn’t legend – let me finish!)
Supposedly, on one particular unit, the trustee who actually delivered them on a tractor was named Johnny. It didn’t take long before he was probably the most popular inmate there. You’d constantly hear calls of ” Where’s Johnny?” Because when you saw Johnny, not only was it time to eat – it also signified that your work day was halfway over with.
As time went by, this became a tradition, with more than a few people doing their best Jack Nicholson impersonation, from the movie The Shining: “Heeeere’s Johnny!”
Years later, the field force was broken up into two halves, and they were brought back into the building to eat a hot meal during the break. Then they stopped going out both halves completely, and are back in the building before noon – and out of the sun for the hottest part of the day. Once people started dying from the heat, they weren’t gonna work us literally to death, even if we’re just inmates. Besides – that would require too much extra paperwork!
These days, the only time we eat sack meals at all is on lockdown, and I’m sure the infamous Johnny is long gone, but the name has persisted. There isn’t an inmate or a guard in TDCJ who doesn’t refer to our sack meals as “Johnnies”.
Back in the day, they consisted of a meat sandwich (usually bologna or salami), a peanut butter/jelly sandwich, and a piece of ” Johnny Cake” with no icing that was a staple of our sack meals. Now that dessert has been abolished to once a week – and we only eat Johnnies on lockdown – we don’t even get the Johnny cake anymore.
I’m sure that the sack meals are nobody’s idea of fine cuisine. But I can just about guarantee you that nobody has died of starvation in TDCJ. In fact, when we’re OFF lockdown and I see some of the stuff they serve in the chow hall – I ALMOST wish I could get a Johnny instead! (But not quite.)
I must admit that TDCJ has been doing what it can to upgrade our meals, even when they come in a sack. The other day, we even got a piece of baked chicken in our Johnnies! For the record, even the chronic complainers didn’t complain about it being cold. (And who would, considering the alternative is bologna – which would be just as cold?!)
We get surprised with an item from commissary in our sack so often now that it’s not even surprising anymore. Though it is always a blessing, and I for one am grateful for it. Rather than complaining about what’s wrong with TDCJ, we should start noticing what’s right about it – or even trying to figure out ways that we can make it better.
The Administration may not agree with everything we suggest, but when you say something that makes sense, people tend to listen to you. Good ideas can come from anywhere – maybe even from an inmate. So says DannyBoy.