Monday; January 11, 2016
Time for my monthly haircut. I keep my hair very short in prison. It eliminates time in the bathroom and I have not met anyone I want to impress in prison. I waited outside the barbershop for 30 minutes to insure my spot in line. There are two barbers on duty, and each is paid approximately $ 1:10 per hour to cut hair. It is a prestigious job in prison. The mood inside the barbershop is like one of those old "Barbershop" movies. Both barbers banter back and forth with their "clients" and with each other.
The college football national championship game is this evening and there is a great debate going on as to who will prevail. The conversation turns to a drug dealer from "B" house who has been down for 21 years. He received a sentence reduction under the new drug sentencing laws and will go home next week. He is in his 50's, never had a job, and spends most of his time on the weight pile. He can bench press 350 pounds which gives him instant credibility and status among many prisoners on the compound.
I wonder what He will do when He gets back on the street? The odds suggest He will come back to prison because He has no marketable job skills or education.
In total, I spend about an hour and a half in the barbershop waiting and getting my haircut. Sitting in the barber's chair listening to football talk makes me feel like I am back in the real world doing normal things. The feeling quickly evaporates when I exit the barbershop into the chilly evening air and hear the jingle of the correction officer's key and leg iron chains.
One day closer to the door.
Ken Flaska
