DannyBoyinExile

It’s the middle of December (which is officially the beginning of winter),
and I’m sweating as I write this… Last week it got cold for all of THREE DAYS – which wasn’t cold enough for snow, by any means, but it did start an avalanche of whining, here on the Wynne Unit. Sometimes I wonder why they don’t change the name of this place from the Wynne Unit to the Whine Unit! (just kidding)
I must confess that if they DID, I suppose I’d fit right in, because I did a little whining myself. It WAS cold, no doubt. But it was nothing that my clothes, jacket, sheets, and blanket couldn’t eradicate. And I did have the foresight to look at the news, where I learned that it would only be cold for a few days. Then it would be warm again for weeks!
The Administration even told everyone that it has to be consistently cold for so many days before they would turn the heating system on for the entire unit. But that wasn’t what the inmates wanted to hear, so a cascade of phone calls went out to various friends, wives, mothers, and children – which became an avalanche of complaint calls to the Administration here.
We wanted heat, so they gave it to us. Now it’s in the 70s every day, and rarely gets below 50° at night – but our heaters are chugging away, like the little engine that could… I had to bring my fan out of retirement, to keep from sweating all night! It’s funny that just a few short months ago, the same guys were complaining about how HOT it was, and were literally filling out prayer requests in the chapel for cooler weather!
Somebody up there must be listening, because we got the cooler weather. Now they were praying for heat – and they got that, too.
The next time your loved ones call you, asking you to complain to someone on their behalf, you should find out beforehand whether it’s a valid complaint or not. It’s not “pleasant” in TDCJ at the best of times.
But it’s very unlikely that they would ignore it if we were truly suffering. They did, after all, issue us a jacket and a blanket. If your friend or relative didn’t get THAT – sure, it’s time to complain. But if it gets a little too hot, or too cold, or his wing ate chow last instead of first, or if they cancelled library for the week? It’s not that serious! There are times when we have to keep a stiff upper lip (as the Brits would say), and keep on truckin’ (as the Americans say).
Always be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it – and be stuck with it, like we’re stuck with the heaters right now. Besides – if people used as much energy to SOLVE their problems as they did to COMPLAIN about them, they’d probably end up with far fewer problems to complain about in the first place… So says Dannyboy.