February 21, 2015
The New Guy in Federal Prison
I didn't notice him as I sat through my hour long business finance class last evening even though he was sitting right next to me. Near the end of class, he asked if he could talk to me after class. As the other prisoners filed out, I turned to him and immediately saw the fear and helplessness in his eyes. I looked at his name tag (all prison attire has a tag with your name, number and clothing issue date) and confirmed my suspicion, He (Jackson) arrived at prison earlier that day. I immediately flashed back to my own first few miserable days in prison and I had immediate empathy for him. We talked about 20 minutes. He had self-surrendered earlier in the day. His wife had dropped him off at the front gate and it was a difficult, tearful, good-bye. He was convicted of health-care fraud and received 44 months. He was joining the rather small contingent of white collar prisoners at Jesup FSL.
So I guess I am no longer the new guy in prison. I am now the guy giving the new guy the information he needs to know to survive. I hope Jackson adjusts to prison quickly. I also hope his time passes as quickly as possible.
Ken Flaska
