An intimate first person non-fiction storytelling experience about incarceration in the United States.
Prison is unlike anything else in life. It’s not something you can master through reading, nor can you conquer it by talking to others. The best that you can do is learn as much as you can about the unwrittens of This World, because the unwrittens (the rules convicts live by) govern all that happens here.
Today I’ve created a new category for you all titled “Video Fridays in 60 Seconds.” This category will feature weekly videos about life here and how incarceration impacts myself and those around me. They’re videos to inspire and videos that answer the broader question: What is it like to be incarcerated in the United States?
Continue reading “#1: Video Fridays in 60 Seconds — Fentanyl, New Staff, and Shakedowns”
Most convicts live month to month on their state pay (a monthly stipend earned from working a prison job). There are jobs for working in food services, the education department, maintenance, recreation, and even in the cell blocks. Everyone here works. There are probably 50 or so different jobs guys can choose from and 95% pay a monthly earnings of $21.00 or less. Think about this for a moment. Twenty one dollars for a month’s work.
I spend alot of time thinking. Most of the time it’s about current events and happenings in my life, but sometimes I find myself thinking back upon the past. I know I’ve said it before, but time has a way of putting things into perspective. My first year incarcerated was a frightful one. I learned through trial by fire how to survive in This World. You either fight to survive or you fold and are swallowed into oblivion behind these walls. That first year was a lonely one for me. Not so much because I had no one here that I could talk to, but because I realized for the first time that family is all that matters in life.
For the regulars who visit this blog, you may be wondering where this week’s post is, as Monday is usually the day for a fresh post. So, what happened?