DannyBoyinExile

We finally got off lockdown yesterday, after a three-week vacation. My wing was supposed to be first for commissary, since we were scheduled to go on the day we got locked down. As luck would have it (DannyBoy luck, that is!), I managed to come out for the dayroom – and go directly to the commissary line! Of course, I got stuck out there during count, and had to wait in line for hours, but that’s a small price to pay, to be able to replenish my stocks a little.
They did impose a $50 limit on what we could purchase. In theory, a smaller spend will be much faster, and everyone will get an opportunity to make store sooner. In reality – it will still take them just as long to run everyone. So now, instead of being able to spend $105 (after not going for five weeks!), we’ll have to make do with $50. That was fine with me, as at least I was able to put something back in my locker, besides an echo!
That was yesterday. Then today – boom. All the power goes out, for the entire unit, and we were plunged into darkness. I personally didn’t mind, as most of these guys aren’t much to look at anyway, but it is a major security issue when a prison is without power. ANY time the lights go out, the usual procedure is to place the entire unit on lockdown and do a special count, to make sure we haven’t lost any passengers – and today was no exception. It doesn’t matter if it’s your commissary day or we just came off lockdown, because lockdown waits for no man… =-)
What WAS unusual is that this time it took HOURS for them to get it fixed! So we’re stuck in the cells, hot and sweaty, with no lights or power (which means no fans!) until repaired whatever went out. At least the tablets still worked, and many of us were able to use the phones.
They finally got it fixed, and just when everybody was settling back into the usual chaos around here – boom, all the power went out AGAIN! (Clearly the first guys they called out weren’t up to the job…) This time it took a few more hours to repair (with no fans or electricity, in the meantime), so I just went to sleep and forgot about it.
Remember that many of TDCJ’s prisons are extremely old. Some of them were built back in the 1800’s, although they’ve had many upgrades and additions since then. On our unit, for example, you can see how the cells are different sizes and configurations on different wings, to reflect changing ideas about how big a cell should be, etc. In fact, it was only the back half of the unit that was without power! (Lucky us.)
Don’t ever think that things can’t get any worse, because they inevitably will. If you think being in prison, on lockdown, is bad enough – just imagine if the power goes out, or the water, or any other of a thousand things that can go wrong. But we can’t let ourselves drown in a sea of negativity. We have to take our blessings where we can find them – and always look for ways to make our situation better. So says DannyBoy.