DannyBoyinExile

Well, Thanksgiving is over and done with, and it didn’t take long to get back to our normal routine around here. Normal for Bedlam, that is! First, we went on a brief lockdown because the guard on my wing found a weapon while inspecting our dayroom. This is prison, so these things happen from time to time – weapons as well as lockdowns. That didn’t bother me much, because a little peace and quiet is certainly nothing to complain about!
Then a cold front came through, which officially dumped winter weather conditions on us. We had temps in the 30s at night – which may not quite freeze water, but it’s freezing to US, when they still haven’t turned the heaters on. Everything here is made of concrete and steel – both of which seem to be excellent at storing heat. (And cold!) When it’s really hot outside, the sun bakes into the concrete until it’s literally RADIATING heat, like an oven. Conversely, when it’s really cold, it feels MUCH colder in the cells.
If that’s not bad enough, we also got an unusually large amount of rain – and the humidity outside was at 100%! Did I say “outside”? Well, the humidity INSIDE was just as high, and all of the concrete floors had a layer of condensation on them, like dew! Imagine stepping from your bunk to the floor, and having your socks soaked with water, just from walking to the toilet to pee! I had to turn my fan on high speed and aim it at the floor, just to keep it dry. (Dry-ER, at any rate.) Which barely helped with the moisture – and didn’t at all help with the cold!
I didn’t want to leave the sanctuary of my blanket, but I finally did. I got fully dressed, including my jacket, and decided to drink hot coffee until I forgot about being cold. I made a nice cup of really strong, steaming coffee – and promptly knocked it off the table. Of course, I spilled it all over my clean, white clothes. Not to mention the walls, floor, and even my cellie’s T-shirt, which was an innocent bystander and just happened to be hanging from the end of his bunk.
Forgive me if I wasn’t exactly feeling the Holiday Spirit by then! I had to strip down to my boxers, and send my clothes to the guy who washes them for me – and he doesn’t do it for free, by any means! I then had to clean up my entire cell, which involved plenty of scrubbing and rinsing. If I thought it was cold fully dressed, with my jacket on, it was truly frigid while washing my cell with cold water – in my underwear! To make matters worse, I couldn’t even LEAVE my cell until my clothes were washed and dried, which was by no means quick, due to all the humidity. Luckily we had already made commissary, so I was able to eat a nice hot soup – complete with cheese, pickles, and chips. If I had knocked THAT off the table, I’d probably have gone to suicide watch! (just kidding)
In prison, there are many days like that, when everything seems to go wrong, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll ever get better. But they always do. Martin Luther King said that if you want the true measure of a man’s character, you must see him in adversity, and I believe there is truth in that. It’s a measure of how far I have grown as a person, to be able to handle situations like that, and keep a good attitude, without making the situation worse, as many people in prison are apt to do.
Once we’ve mastered that (which isn’t always easy), we can STILL improve – by learning to help other people who are going through similar situations. Everyone appreciates someone who can make a joke to lighten a situation – or even lend a hand to help clean up the mess. Things like that make us more pleasant to be around, and just better people, period. We don’t have control over many things in life, but how we respond to a situation is something that we can always control. And that’s a lesson worth learning, whatever side of the fence you live on… So says DannyBoy.