February 4, 2015
What Did You Do Last Night In Prison?
I got an email today that asked me what I did last night. I replied as follows:
As soon as 4:00 p.m. Census Count cleared, I ate a tuna packet to get some protein before dinner. We had dinner at 5:00 p.m. and it consisted of two hard boiled eggs, biscuits and gravy. After dinner, I jogged 8 laps (4 miles) and went back to my unit to shower. It was prime time so I had to wait 20 minutes for a shower. After my shower, I was invited to play the card game "spades" by some other guys in my unit. The card table is the side of a bulk toilet paper box. We move our chairs together and the cardboard rests on our knees to form the card table. Picture me, with three other guys in their 20's and 30's (all former drug dealers) sitting in a cube playing cards on a toilet paper box!
After cards, I called my son but got no answer. You have this misplaced expectation in that everyone should be waiting for your call when you are in prison. You become easily frustrated when your call goes unanswered because it is a hassle to wait in line and make the call. I have to work on this because the only person to blame for my situation is me.
I closed my evening finishing up Andrew Ross Sorkin's book "Too Big to Fail". It was a great read covering the 2008 financial crisis. Next up was the 10:00 p.m. standup count. After count, I had a short conversation with my cellie, and then went to bed.
All in all, it was a better than average evening in federal prison. Unfortunately, I get to experience another evening in prison tonight!
Ken Flaska
