As I mentioned in an earlier journal, my friend Mark died in prison on Sunday morning (5/25/25) of amyloidosis. His cellmate & friend, Gino, started packing up all the materials in his two lockers Sunday evening. It is a bit sad to see someone’s whole life being packed out of 2 lockers (most of us only have one, but Mark had one that just held his books & legal files). All his clothes, personal hygiene products, books, etc. – all out of a locker. Soon after, the vulture swept in trying to get what was left – an extra pillow, clothes that would fit, sheets, blankets, legal pads – just about anything that wasn’t locked up or protected by Gino.
The second issue that I never thought about is that it is difficult to get closure on a prison death. One day your friend is there and the the next day he isn’t. There is no viewing, funeral service, obituary or even an announcement (Luckily the chaplain announced it in church; ironically at the end of the service after everyone prayed for his recovery at the beginning of the service).
Yesterday, I had an FSA class taught by a different chaplain. I asked what happens to the body. He said that about 90% of the time, the family will organize for the body to be sent to them. If they are too poor, then the prison will take care of the body. I have heard that there is a prison cemetery nearby, but haven’t seen it.
Just found out this morning that Todd & Julie Christley (He had a TV show called Christley Knows Best) got pardoned. Julie was staying at the female prison about 400 yards from where I am “stationed.” I can think of quite a few other prisoners who contributed more to society than what his TV show did who should also be pardoned. But I won’t dwell on that – just an observation.
We had a “holiday meal” on Memorial Day (5/26/25). For breakfast, we had hot scones in addition to our normal breakfast. For lunch, we had a hamburger, 2 hot dogs, baked beans, green beans, potato salad & a slice of pie (mine was blueberry, but there was also apple & raspberry). Soon after that, we had “grab-and-go” where we went to the chow hall to get a bagged lunch consisting of bologna, chips, peanut butter & jam, a fruit cup and some bread. I was a bit sick to my stomach yesterday afternoon and my one cellmate was sick yesterday afternoon & all night. I think the moral of this story is that our stomachs have adjusted in prison and we are not used to eating the food we used to eat before we came in. When we get out, we will have to slowly adjust ourselves to our previous diet. Personally, I intend to eat a slimmer diet consisting of meat, fruits & veggies with portion control & intermittent fasting in order to promote a longer life – although I do have a list of things I want to eat as soon as I get out (BLT, steak, pork chops, apple pie, apple crisp, deep fried shrimp & a few other things).
I guess I will have to find some middle ground on this for the first week or two.
