DannyBoyinExile

A “lay-in” is an official pass, when we are expected to be somewhere such as the infirmary, law library, mailroom, etc. These are handed out each afternoon, and got their name from the fact that you are expected to miss work (lay in) to ensure that you arrive at your scheduled appointment the next day.
They recently gave at least fifty guys on my wing a lay-in for the same thing: “C BLOCK”. That sounds pretty cryptic, so there was plenty of speculation about what it could mean. Of course, the stoners got paranoid and thought, ” Oh my God! It’s a surprise drug test!”
I wasn’t particularly worried about that, since my urine doesn’t contain anything stronger than coffee. (And lots of it!) But I did take the time to appease them (the smokers, I mean, not the drug testers) by pointing out the VERY TOP LINE of the lay-in, which indicated that it was from the medical department. When they surprise people with random drug tests (though it’s not TOO much of a surprise, when you have a pass for it!), they always say “Administrative” on the top line. But you can’t expect anyone under the influence to read the fine print – even if it’s on the very top line…
Well, ’tis the season to be jolly – which also means that it’s flu season. Anything contagious is quick to spread in TDCJ, due to such crowded conditions in the dayrooms, chow halls, chapel, etc. Even a cell is a little too crowded when both inmates are in it – and if one of them is coughing, vomiting, or (worse) suffering from diarrhea, it’s REALLY too close for comfort. Sicknesses are passed even more, due to the inmates’ propensity to drink out of each other’s cups! It’s almost a tradition here, for associates who sit at a table together every day, to pick up each other’s cups and help themselves to whatever’s inside.
There’s no polite way to avoid it, because it’s like a mark of respect to BE trusted enough to be able to drink out of someone else’s cup. In years past, it was taboo to drink after anyone of another race – but that is becoming history now, and I often see people sharing their cups – and germs! – with each other, regardless of race.
To combat the problem (of germs, not cup-sharing), the Wynne Unit has been going from wing to wing, giving each inmate an opportunity to take a flu vaccine – which explains our surprise lay-ins the other day. Anyone also had the option to REFUSE it, and I did just that, as I never get the flu anyway! It’s not that I’m “scared” of needles (my tattoos would refute that!), I just don’t want ANY shot that I don’t specifically need. Besides – I don’t want to see a commercial on TV one day, informing me that if I’ve ever taken the flu vaccine, I should contact the law offices of so-and-so. No thanks!
Quite a few guys DID take the shot, and I only heard of a few who had any ill effects from it. If it prevents some of them from getting sick, that’s a good thing. We’re all better off with less sick people running around, coughing and sneezing their germs onto the rest of us. As for me, it prevented me from going to work for a day – and that’s all the prevention I needed! So says DannyBoy.