So as I mentioned in my letter last week, I was headed for prison after my sister’s and Jamie’s wedding…
I had zero idea what to expect.
That was me, 4 short days before I walked onto that compound.
Once released onto the compound, you are told where to go with as little direction as possible, or at least that was my situation in Milan, Michigan.
When I got out of the hole, I was told to go out, hang a left, and go to the building with a B on it (which meant B unit) and then once you arrive check in with the CO (correctional officer) at the officer’s station.
When I got to B unit and checked in with the officer, they gave me some paperwork that included the rules for the unit and the handbook that told you everything you needed to know for the prison.
So there I was a man with instructions. Do you think I read them, or do you think I just tried to go ahead and figure it out on my own? Well, it was the latter, because I still haven’t read that handbook to this day. So, how did I figure out how everything worked in prison, you ask? Well, A&O, which was orientation, wasn’t for a couple of weeks, so I simply went by trial and error.
If you do something wrong, you will either get yelled at by a CO or made fun of by an inmate. Also, even if you read the handbook, there is a whole other number of unwritten rules that the inmates are expected to follow. The book might even point you in the wrong direction like if you can’t find a spot in the TV room, you don’t ask the CO or unit manager or case manager.
No, you wait in line put in your days and maybe eventually one will open up and a friend will leave and leave that spot to you. The first thing you need to know about prison is the COs might police the yard, but inmates run it. It’s called politics, and it’s a fine line you have to walk to make them both happy. If you fall out of line, one or the other (or both) will correct you.
Politics is a standard or order that is expected out of every inmate, and it’s more present at low, medium, and high facilities, but it will pop its head up at a camp now and then as well.
Politics tells you who you eat with, watch tv with, work out with, how you act and operate, and how you are disciplined when you get out of line. So here I am green and fresh off the streets, I have done three days in county, three days in the SHU, and now it’s time to adapt to this new world. I find my cube, meet my new cellie (my roommate), and I wait.
I was only allowed one shower as I was in the SHU and that was two days ago, so one thing I know I want to do is clean up, but I don’t have any property. I have some shampoo and a bar of soap that the CO gave me when I got to the unit, I have a towel from laundry, but what I don’t have is shower shoes, and nobody is coming to introduce themselves and offer me any.
So after about an hour, I said, “screw it,” and I went and showered barefoot. I am guessing this is not in the rule book either, but I still get made fun of for this particular occasion to this day, because someone who was there this day is now on this compound, and made sure to tell everyone.
But, I asked myself why didn’t someone come up and offer me some shower shoes or some extra property that I didn’t possess, well that is because I was at a low, where 65%-75% of the inmates being housed there are sex offender, and everybody was waiting for somebody else to go check me out.
As soon as I got back from the shower someone came up to me and said hey, are you from Minnesota, and I said yes, and he said, “man do you need anything I saw you just showered with no shower shoes, that’s pretty savage, you don’t want to do that again, you can catch all sorts of shit from that ground.”
The next day I was able to go to the commissary, and I spent my limit, which was $360, getting all the essentials, some food and snacks, and the few luxuries they had, like an Mp3 player, headphones, and a watch. I was also able to get on the phone, call home, and let them know I was okay. I was a couple of days in with thousands more to go!
Until next time,
Noah
