THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2009
My Thursday At Taft Federal Prison Camp
It's 7:30 P.M. and I'm writing from my rack. Today was as normal as it gets in prison. No surprises. The weather was cool and breezy with temperatures around 50 degrees. By 4:00 A.M. I was writing from the quiet room responding to two letters. I then continued interviewing Gary, a former attorney who is serving 20 months for bankruptcy fraud. Gary's wife is also incarcerated and serves her time in a women's prison camp in Texas. His story intrigues me, in part, because he is so adamant about his innocence. He insists his behavior violated the rules of ethics and not the criminal code. I plan to write Gary's story and post it as a blog entry in the next few weeks.
At 8:15 A.M. I hit the track and ran 10 miles. I've run 220 miles in January. I'm taking off until Sunday, primarily because my right hamstring feels like a truck ran over it.
After dinner (pasta with tomato sauce and salt & pepper chicken) I helped two inmates write letters to their counselor requesting additional halfway house time. A letter I wrote last week on behalf of another inmate resulted in the counselor granting an additional 30-days halfway house time. It's satisfying knowing that I played a role in helping another man get home to his family sooner. Now it's 7:40 P.M. and I'm going to bed.
Tomorrow I will take the day off to visit with my father and stepmother, Ronda. I haven't seen them since December 12th.
Justin Paperny
