DannyBoyinExile

My mother always told me that you shouldn’t eat something in front of anyone, without at least offering them some. I’ve come a long way since then (not to mention thirty years in prison!), but sometimes good manners just become a part of your character.
Meanwhile, in TDCJ they have a rule against “trafficking and trading”. In my humble opinion, ” trafficking ” means transporting something from one place to another. And of course, “trading” is exchanging one item for another. But trafficking and trading has become a blanket rule which prohibits ANY item being given from one inmate to another.
For example, there is a tradition in TDCJ, where you buy a few extra ice creams when you make commissary – then pass them out to your friends when you get back to the wing. When all of your associates participate, each of you may end up eating several ice creams on an average store day. (Which is a good thing, since you may not get another one for two weeks!) This is especially helpful to the guys who DON’T go to commissary, as they’ll be able to enjoy one, too.
One day, I’m returning from store with five of the novelty ice creams in my bag. The new commissary bags are mesh, so the guards can see what’s inside them – and sure enough, the boss lady on my wing notices them and stops me. She had the audacity to tell me that I had to stand there and eat all five of them in front of her!
I’m like, “Excuse me?” She said, “You heard me. You’re not gonna go in there and give all those ice creams away – that’s trafficking and trading. You’re going to stand here and eat them.”
I told her, “Ma’am, they’re MY ice creams, and I can eat them any time I want to! If I want to keep them for three days and then drink them like a milkshake – that’s exactly what I’ll do! I also have five bags of coffee in there. Do I need to stand here and drink them all in front of you, too?”
(I also had a new bottle of petroleum jelly: did she expect me to stand there and… well, never mind.) haha =-)
I went in with my stuff, and course I gave them all away (the ice creams, not the bags of coffee!), with an admonishment that they better not let that crazy lady see them, or she was going to write us a case!
I can understand the intent of those sorts of rules. Presumably, it’s to stop the sales of contraband, or even extortion. But some types of trafficking and trading will always go on around here – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Right now, for example, we are on lockdown, surviving on sack meals. I have plenty of commissary, and my cellie doesn’t have any. Do you think I would eat right in front of him, KNOWING that he is hungry? Of course not – I’ll wait until he goes to sleep, and then eat! (just kidding) On almost a daily basis, I’ll give him a soup, some cookies, or a handful of chips. That may not be anything huge – but the gesture itself makes a huge difference in how we get along.
Things like that may be against the rules, but they’re just good common sense. I can’t help but think that the atmosphere around here is better when we all share with each other, than it would be if we refused to give each other anything at all – because it was against the rules. And anything that would’ve made my mother proud of me can’t be an altogether bad thing… So says DannyBoy.