"Never Wrestle with a Pig" *

Yesterday I had a great visit with my parents. I hadn't seen them in a while, especially my mom. I got a lot of encouragement out of that time, as I always do, and I think that they got a better idea of what the prison lifestyle is like.

After their visit I went outside with another guy and we were able to talk quite a bit. He said he felt like some of the guys in the dorm might fight him soon. I just dismissed it, knowing he could have a big mouth at times.

Little did I know it would happen so soon. In the evening he was playing dominoes and got into a fracas. The two guys moved into the dorm area where I was reading a book, trying to mind my own business. It was over in about twenty seconds with no one hurt at all.

Then, in one of those stupid prison gang politics moves, the other guy was told to fight again because he hadn't thrown "enough" punches. Now it's past 10 PM and I'm singing in my bunk while the fan is on. All I hear is banging around in the bathroom area. The guy I ran with came back out with no bruises while the other guy chipped a tooth and got a black eye.

I told the guy I ran with that I thought it was dumb to fight, especially over a domino game, and even more so twice in one night. Too much macho mixed with too little maturity is a bad concoction seen too often in prison.

"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it.” -George Bernard Shaw