I was awake at 5:35am today, to Mr. Readon tapping my bed, saying he is not feeling good and is going to let the officer know so they could rush to see him, also asking that I pack his things if he gets taken to the hospital.
So I decide to get up and get ready just in case. But I get dressed in clothes for the rec-yard, see if I can start a routine of exercising. At the 7:30 call, I head to the chapel but there is no one available, so I head back to the unit, and at 8am I head back over to the chapel. Still no one is there, so I head to yard and start walking around the track. I pick up the pace as I start getting a good feel for it, and keep moving for the full hour.
9am, I head to the gate to go back to the unit, but I see Bon-Bon and he waves me down to go grab the racquetball racquets. I turn around and walk over to the storage room where the orderly hands me two racquets and over to the courts I go.
Bon-Bon won 2 of the 3 games we played against each other, and by the fourth game, he gave up the racquet halfway as I lead by 5 points.
10am, they call the move and we all head around the lake and into our units. I quickly get to my room, grab what I need to shower, and jump into the first one available. Good thing I turned on the lights, as there were two cockroaches in there with me, but both were dead. As I shower I rinse the clothes I sweated in, and later put them into my laundry bag, as laundry will be done tomorrow.
Time to wait for the call to have lunch, so I sit and read my daily devotionals. My favorite today was from the “Our Daily Bread” booklet.
“Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body”
[Ephesians 4:25]
This verse talks about being truthful to others, like times when others are doing wrong, it is best to be honest with them about their actions than lying to make them feel better about themselves, which in the end tends to be worst. At times I would feel tempted to withhold the truth from others, but going forward, with a verse like this, and having the “fear” of God in me, I push myself to resist lying. It is vital for me to share what is honest and true because I know it is what is right to do, and have promised myself to always do good, which will help in always being honest, not having any reason to lie.
I have Mr. Rivero ready to go to chow, today is Tuesday, February 18, 2025, which means the menu has chicken parmesan for us. Once we arrive in the dining room, we grab our trays and head to the tables. Mr. Rivero did not eat his chicken, and I don’t blame him, as it was extremely dry. I took the spinach and topped it on the chicken, but still did not help much. The spaghetti was, “okay”, seemed to have a little bit of cheese, and we had a chocolate-mint chip cookie.
Back in the unit, I park Mr. Rivero’s wheelchair by his room, and head to my cubicle to prepare myself a cafecito before the move is called. A few minutes later I hear, “Work Call”, and I grab my psychology booklet and head to the chapel. As I arrive, I see our Rastafarian member waiting outside the chapel, so we go together and knock on the chaplain’s door, then step in.
Chaplain: “Wha, Wha, Wha….I’m eating, wait outside”
Me: “Okay, he (pointing to Mr. Kirley) is here for his service; whenever you are ready”
So Mr. Kirlew and I stand outside his office in the sun waiting for him to finish eating, and when he opens the door to step out, he asks us, why are we standing there. “You told us to wait outside while you ate”, Mr. Kirlew responded. “Yes, yes” he says as he walks over to the Lieutenant’s office to ask an AIC why he was sitting outside their office, and asking what he did wrong that he is in trouble.
Finally we are in the chapel, I grab the sign-in sheet for Mr. Kirlew and set him up in the back classroom for his service. By 1pm I notify the chaplain I am going to psychology for my class and would be back in an hour.
As our class ends, and our psychologist Ms. Campos provides us a few trail-mix snacks, I walk back over to the chapel. I notice all the doors are locked, and the chaplains office lights are on, but no chaplain. I asked a few guys nearby if they had seen the chaplain leave the chapel, and they said no. I wait a few minutes, but cannot wait too long or I will be considered “Out of bounds”, so I head back to the unit, change out of my Class-A uniform and lay down in bed.
“Hernandez!!!”, I hear the officer calling. “ICE is coming to get you, get your stuff ready”. I jump out of bed, as my buddy is heading out of here and over to immigration to find out if he will be deported or not, but at least he is done with his sentence. I see him, shake his hand and give him a “bro-hug”. We sit and wait for count, Mr. Hernandez hasn’t left yet, so we all head over to the chow hall for dinner after count clears.
Back in the unit, I sit down to watch some television, until finally around 7pm, Mr. Hernandez walks through R&D and is taken by ICE. It’s 8:30pm and I just spoke with the family. Hunger is kicking in, but I head to check the callout see if I have anything scheduled for tomorrow, then over to my room, grab a soup, break it up, put it in my small bowl, add a few small sausage bites, seasonings and boiling water. Tonight, Hannity on Fox News is showing an interview with President Trump and Elon Musk, so I quickly grab my bowl, and radio and head to my chair. The night is over for me, tomorrow is a new day.
Father God, thank you for your guidance, your protection and your love. Thank you Lord for all you do and for taking care of my family while I can’t. Thank you dear Lord for this day, and for giving me the strength to move forward each and every day in these times of struggle. Father God, my life is in your hands, I ask that You do with me as You need to and get me to where you need me the most. I pray and ask for a great night sleep tonight, and by your will, allow me to have a great day tomorrow. Amen.
Eduardo Luis Valdes
02499-506
February 18, 2025
21:29
