DannyBoyinExile

It doesn’t always seem as if hard work is appreciated – especially when you’re an inmate, and they have literally thousands of people they can replace you with. But I pride myself on my work ethic, and believe that people will always appreciate the extra effort I put in – even if it’s only because they appreciate the fact that it’s ME doing the dirty work instead of them. At least (and at last) I can say that your work will get you NOTICED, for good or bad.
When I worked in the hallway last time, things may not have worked out – but people did notice that I was always busy, and kept everything looking good. So when I WAS fired, it didn’t take long at all for me to get another job.
Working on B wing was nobody’s idea of a dream job, to be sure. I mean, I can’t remember how many times I was summoned to clean up floods, put out fires (and clean up the ashes), pick up… ahem… doo-doo from various floors, cells, or rec yards, and a dozen other unflattering duties. All in nearly 100° heat – which didn’t make me or the doo-doo smell any better.
But I got it done. And I quickly became one of the main people they’d send for when something needed to be done. Before long, my name was being called a hundred times a day, and I was even trusted enough to be the one inmate who was authorized to clean the rank’s offices.
So when the administration decided to switch out the Majors from general population and B wing, it was me who the Major decided to put back in the hallway, as well as clean his office each day.
It feels good to be known as reliable, and to be the go-to guy when things need to be done. (It must feel good to find chores for me to do as well, because they never run out of things for me to do!). I don’t mind, though. I live here, so I want it to be as clean as possible – even if I’m the poor guy who’s called upon to do all the cleaning.
I may not have made a million dollars off of my work ethic (or even a dollar, come to think of it!), but I’ve earned the recognition of the people who run this place, and that’s a reward in itself. It even feels good to be polite and helpful to everyone I encounter in the hallway each day. That just suits me.
One lady from B wing recently told me, “So you just said fuck us, and got a job change!” But I’ll take that as a compliment. 🙂 What can I say? When the Major offers you a job, you don’t turn it down. Anything less would be uncivilized… So says DannyBoy.