These next few posts are going to be quite a treat for you
if you’re a long-time reader. Yesterday, I went to visit me mum briefly and she
handed me a stack of envelopes and postcards that I had sent out from C.I.P. I
had never realized this, but looking back I can see why they were never
published. When we were in boot camp, we had to address everybody as Sir, ma’am,
Mr. or Ms. So, the first few letters that were sent out from Willow River must
have been received as personal letters, and were never posted to the blog, so,
as I was reading through them yesterday, I read some stuff I knew I had to
publish. I’ve also included a picture of me that was taken during my mom’s
first visit. If you recall, she may have poked fun at my sideburns and—although
I’m not wearing them—my instant weirdo glasses. Enjoy.
Ms. Maertz
03/27/2015
It’s been a crazy few days. Three days ago we got our red
tags removed (think skin tags but rectangle, red, plastic, and they hang from a
metal clip attached to your collar. So, no, don’t think skin tags.).Red tags go
on under our prison ID’s and sort of make us stand out as new guys. Having them
removed after two weeks was the first big hurdle; we felt pretty good about it.
Well, last night they made us put them back on. Our squad,
as a whole, is a mess, even for new guys. Some of us (not me) still can’t
figure out left and right. Some of us (me) still can’t make our beds with 45°
angles, and no wrinkles. And some of us (I won’t profile) think it’s okay to
rap and use the N word and profanity in the barracks.
It is now back to being incredibly stressful, but I think we’re
still on some sort of “right path.”
Two days ago while we were on work crew, we went way out
into the woods and raked up pine needles for about an hour. Even though we were
working, I felt completely at peace. The sun was hitting my face, a cool breeze
finding its way through the perforated mesh in my hat, and the birds singing
their songs to help us work. But most importantly, I looked around and realized
that there were no fences anywhere. No fences, no barbed-wire, and no bars. I
think of that moment when I get frustrated and I know that soon enough, I will
be able to find peace in everything I do…… Well, shitty. I had this sneaking
suspicion that I had read this before so I took a look back, and sure enough,
this is not new material. So, I went back and amended a few things, and I’ll
stop there. And I really thought I was on a roll.
So there goes that project. Well, I guess that means I’ll go
back to editing the book for a while. If I had done that already, I wouldn’t
have made this mistake, but I’m only human. A really cool human with sideburns:
My muscles are so big I can't even get my arms down all the way.
This is my second day off in a row where I have plans to do absolutely nothing and it feels great. I used my gift certificate for Nina's Coffee Café to buy a pound of my favorite coffee for home brewing to avoid spending the $10 that I do every time I walk through the doors. Putting myself on a limited budget should help me through this temporary financial slowdown, and truthfully it will be nice to sit around and just be a homebody for a few weeks. That is all.
