Corona Update

Yep we’re still on lock down, a modified Lockdown.

On regular lockdown we do not leave our cells to make phone calls or see the email. We are given barely enough food to eat. The TVs are shut off and we are only allowed to shower every three days. A regular lockdown is punishment driven.

The cell blocks in the Federal System are triangular shaped. To give you a better idea, picture a triangle, that’s a three sided box, in case you hillbillies don’t know what a triangle is. Now, down one side of the triangle shaped edge are 11 two man cells, then the next run has 7 cells, then the last run has 13 two man cells …I didn’t say it was a perfect triangle you idjit – I said it was a TRIANGULAR shape … whatever! Anyway, that’s what my cellblock looks like but, two-storied: 62 two man cells, or 128 men per building. When all the doors are open, that’s allot of bodies in a very small floor space in the middle; Social Distancing ain’t possible, hence the Modified Lockdown. Let me explain.

Staff has numbered each row of the triangular runs, top and bottom, separately. First 11 cells on the bottom floor is #1, the other long side with 13 cells is #2 and the short bottom of the triangle is #3, upstairs is likewise 4,5 and 6.
Three days a week, M,W, Friday we are let out of our cells one row at a time for two hours. During this two hours we are allowed to take a shower, use the phone and email. Two hours, three times a week. So we are being allowed out, a little, and since we are exposed to only the folks in our run, we’re pretty much isolated.

BAD POINTS: anytime you’re locked down it sucks. Next, I’m in row #1, meaning that when I’m out, there are 21 other guys out too. No, I ain’t worried about getting sick, I’m complaining about the phone! You see phone calls are limited to 15 minutes each – that means you can spend your whole 2 hours waiting in line to call your kids – WHO WON’T ANSWER! Get it. You wait in line, then finally get to the phone only to find that – yep … no one answers. Really sucks.

The other bad thing about this is that in order to get all six rows out for two hours apiece, takes 12 hours ( Byrd, that’s all your fingers and two of your toes :)). And this 12 hour period has to take into account three meals and a mandatory 4pm Stand-up. So there ain’t allot of open time between the 6am work day and the 9pm lockdown to get all six rows out.

Now, I’m in row #1, so that first morning @6:30 I rushed out of my cell to get a phone, I was lucky – but hell it’s 6:30am, who the hell am I gonna call at that time in the morning? My spoiled-assed kids, “We were up late”, “I went Hog hunting all night”, “I was was working out,” “my phone doesn’t get reception here” and yeah you get the picture. I can’t believe that I’m not the most important thing in their lives – selfish assed kids! 🙂 Anyways, that’s the bad of this but here are some good things:

A. Yeah, LDs suck, but we are getting out three times a week.
B. The staff figured out that at 15 mins a call, some folks weren’t able to use the phone- so they cut them back to 5 minutes a call and that works out so everybody gets to make a call.
C. Because no one is workin, some of the guys don’t have money for phone calls – so the Feds have given us FREE phone calls. Now everyone can call their families.
D. The Lord has been very good. Someone has gone extra lengths to make sure that we are being fed good.
F. They are rotating the 2 hour free time schedule which means that I am out 3 days a week, sometimes between 6:30am and 9:30pm. This makes it harder for my kids to duck my phone calls 🙂 Yep, Staff is doing a pretty good job of handling this thing.

So that’s what I’m up to, hope y’all are making good use of this time at home-love them kids. Stay safe

Three Rivers, 4-22-20