Well, I woke up around 4:30 AM with tears in my eyes. I couldn’t remove the thought of Ihla being left all alone due to my stupidity. Thoughts of her not knowing how I’m doing, no communication at all, must be killing her. I also had thoughts of Mom worrying, praying and asking God why He’s forsaken her. I could not control my emotions as tears ran down my cheeks. The feeling of hopelessness, despair, frustration, and headache was overwhelming.
I’ve had a lump in my throat all day. The guards came in for their rounds, and I just lay lifeless in my bunk. My spine was in knots as I tried to use my laundry bag and its contents to fluff up the mattress. Not a good idea. I decided to get out of bed because there were intercom announcements for food service
employees. I folded my sheet and blanket and got dressed. Chow was called, but more than half of the inmates in my block were still asleep. Apparently, on Saturdays, people can sleep in because lights didn’t come on until about 10 AM. I went to breakfast and had oatmeal, apple, sponge (cake) and two cartons of fat free milk. After breakfast, I came back to “Alpha” block and tried to read my bible. There wasn’t enough light and I didn’t want to wake up my roommate by turning on the light in the cubicle, so I
decided to head over to the library when the five minute move was announced, indicating that are not allowed to move about freely. They announce when and where you are permitted to go. During my breakdown this morning, I realized I misspelled Evelyn’s email address, so I went into the email system after reading the Book of James.
I finally received a reply from Dennis. He said that Ihla was having difficulty with the Corrlinks system as I tried to log her in using my email account. Dennis suggested that I change the email address to her email, which I did. I think I screwed up Evelyn’s email address again, but will verify tonight after dinner.
I decided to go out into the exercise yard and shoot some hoops. These boots suck, but at least I was able to shoot the ball around. This guy, “D”, who is a J6er, saw me and asked if I wanted to participate in the soccer challenge. Because of the holiday, the Activities Department put together events to sign up for, and they give prizes to the winners. I think it’s a three day event, and players get points for participating. Well, the soccer challenge was that you had to kick a ball through two cones from 50 years away. ONe guy got a goal, 5 others got zero goals (out of three opportunities). Lo and behold, Kevin kicks two goals and wins the challenge! All the Hispanics were pissed! I got powdered water flavor packets for winning. Too funny! I came back to the “Alpha” block and tried to take a shower. Everyone was using the shower, so I decided to read the book I‘ve been reading, “Mississippi Burning.” It’s about 500 pages, and it’s part of a series of books. Unfortunately I am reading part three, which puts me in the middle of a much bigger picture.
I was able to secure a shower, and then headed out fo chow. They served chili dogs, which is a camp favorite. It was better than nothing. I decided to start my journal tonight after dinner, and my roommate surprised me with some rice, cabbage, chicken, and hotdogs with hot sauce. It wa the best meal I’ve had since I arrived. They cook the rice in a plastic garbage bag with hot water in a trash can. Amazing what these guys can come up with, being so short on resources. I’m overstuffed because I couldn’t turn
down the huge bowl of food. I’m headed over to the library to see if I have any more emails.
