They eventually got me over to the camp and I was shown to my bunk. My bunk can be seen below; I was on the top. There were no doors to the bunk. It's just an open cube on a floor with 20 other bunks. There were 40 of us on our floor - D-Range. D-Range had 3 showers, 4 sinks, 2 urinals, and 2 toilets (with privacy doors). The range was really only quiet between 1AM and 7AM. Other than those times, it was frat house with music blasting, people dancing, singing, gambling, sleeping, reading, and making food. We had a microwave and "190" hot water tap.
My first bunkie was a 6'5", 340 lbs black man that went by the nickname, Big-E. Big-E, like 95% of the inmates at the camp, was incarcerated for drugs. We never got into his exact crime, but I quickly learned that Big-E was, despite his menacing size, dreads, and gold front-tooth, a prince of a man. Big-E helped me immensely adapt to prison life. I think he got a kick out of me, an average white dude doing a 4-month stint for insider trading, tossed among the lunacy of the camp's range. Big-E and I talked about everything. He was quite gregarious and our talks were highly entertaining.
Nevertheless, after two weeks, I moved bunks to a quieter area of the range. My new bunkie, Lee, also doing time for drugs, became one of my closest friends at the camp. Lee also helped show me the ropes, which included procuring and securing any necessary items that one might require while in prison. In camp, nothing was unobtainable.
Nevertheless, after two weeks, I moved bunks to a quieter area of the range. My new bunkie, Lee, also doing time for drugs, became one of my closest friends at the camp. Lee also helped show me the ropes, which included procuring and securing any necessary items that one might require while in prison. In camp, nothing was unobtainable.
In terms of the food, I think Woody Allen describes it beautifully in the opening line to Annie Hall. He describes a joke where two elderly women are sitting in a restaurant and the first woman says to the second, "Boy, the food here is terrible," to which the second replies, "Yeah, and such small portions too!" That's prison food. It's edible, but that's about all you can say. At times, I laughed that I was eating the same thing that my eight-year-old son was probably eating in elementary school - hamburgers, pizza, hot-dogs, tacos, and lots of white rice and beans! Fruit and vegetables are few and far between. The only thing to drink is water. Most inmates supplemented the chow-hall with items they purchased at Commissary.
Commissary is essentially a mini-General's store. Think a CVS, Walgreens, or mini WalMart at super low prices. At commissary, I purchased some "leisure" clothes (all inmates wear green pants and dress shirts while at work) and snacks. Mostly, I snacked on protein bars and other junk food. There was also an extensive "hand-me-down" system. I left prison with nothing. Custom says you gift all your items to new inmates or those who cannot afford upgrades at Commissary.
Commissary is essentially a mini-General's store. Think a CVS, Walgreens, or mini WalMart at super low prices. At commissary, I purchased some "leisure" clothes (all inmates wear green pants and dress shirts while at work) and snacks. Mostly, I snacked on protein bars and other junk food. There was also an extensive "hand-me-down" system. I left prison with nothing. Custom says you gift all your items to new inmates or those who cannot afford upgrades at Commissary.
Everyone is supposed to work in prison. My job in prison was to tutor fellow inmates attempting to earn their GED. I reported to work at 8AM and taught math and science until 10AM. I reported back to work at 1PM and taught basic reading and writing until 3PM. I made around $30 a month. It was surprisingly rewarding work and those few students I helped appreciated my effort. It was humbling, but it definitely helped pass the time; plus, it was far better than cleaning toilets or sweeping floors. I also taught a few classes on the stock market and how to invest; they were well received.
Most jobs were orderly jobs. Food service was another big employer, along with maintenance and landscaping. If you didn't want to work, you paid someone to do your job. If you didn't have money, you "hustled" by doing someone else's job. The camp offered plenty of opportunities to earn. For example, I paid someone to do my laundry. It cost me $1.50 each week to have my laundry washed, dried, and folded. A bargain!
Most jobs were orderly jobs. Food service was another big employer, along with maintenance and landscaping. If you didn't want to work, you paid someone to do your job. If you didn't have money, you "hustled" by doing someone else's job. The camp offered plenty of opportunities to earn. For example, I paid someone to do my laundry. It cost me $1.50 each week to have my laundry washed, dried, and folded. A bargain!
When I wasn't working, I spent most of my time reading and working out. The camp actually has a decent yard that includes a softball field, a soccer field, 1/5-mile track, two bocce courts, two full basketball courts, two handball courts, and two horseshoe pits. I got crazy good at bocce ball. Inside there were two pool tables, 10 TVs, a full gym, along with a library, art studio, classrooms, and computer lab. I checked my "email" several times a day. It felt like a poorly funded community college or military academy.
You have a ton of free time at camp. It's kind of like a really bad all-inclusive resort. You can do nothing or you can keep yourself busy. Guards pretty much left you alone, mostly because they didn't care and hated doing paperwork. My typical "weekday" schedule can be seen below. The weekend was similar, only without the GED work.
You have a ton of free time at camp. It's kind of like a really bad all-inclusive resort. You can do nothing or you can keep yourself busy. Guards pretty much left you alone, mostly because they didn't care and hated doing paperwork. My typical "weekday" schedule can be seen below. The weekend was similar, only without the GED work.
6:00AM - Clear
7:45AM - Wake up, make coffee!
8:00AM - Report to morning GED class as a tutor (math/science)
10:30AM - Report to lunch
11:00AM - Head to the gym to lift weights (no skipping leg-day)
12:30PM - Census count (report back to my bunk to check-in)
1:00PM - Report to afternoon GED class as a tutor (reading/writing)
3:00PM - Walk / Run around the track
4:15PM - Count Time (standing up in your bunk)
4:45PM - Report to dinner
4:45PM - Report to dinner
5:00PM - More track time, maybe some bocce or softball
6:30PM - Head to the library to read / shoot-the-shit with fellow inmates
9:30PM - Count Time (standing up in your bunk)
10:00PM - Lockdown
10:00PM - Lockdown
Mostly everyone I met was friendly, polite, and generally looking to make their time at the camp productive and non-confrontational. It was completely safe. One day, we heard that a guard at the Medium got knocked out. Another day, an inmate at the Medium got shanked. Stuff like that never happened at the camp. Everyone at a camp is close to home, so almost no one wants to get into a situation where they potentially jeopardize their "good time" or risk getting sent to a higher-security facility. If you screwed up, you got a "shot" and went to the SHU. My time at the camp was not unlikely what you see on "Orange Is The New Black", only with significantly less guard (CO) interaction and no lesbian sex. Like in the show, contraband was everywhere.
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