I just wrote about gung-ho guards that think they are the bee's knees, but, on the other end of the spectrum are the guards who don't assert themselves enough. That brings bad results for both sides as the following example shows.
As I was coming back from work today a guard was waiting for the door to my dorm to open so he could let me in. On the other side of the door were a few inmates waiting impatiently to go to dinner. When the door unlocked, a few inmates pushed it open and rushed down the hallway. The guard tried to call them back with no success.
About fifteen minutes later a sergeant came into the dorm and told everyone to get in their cells. After we were all locked in our cells, the sergeant and a couple officers tore apart the dayroom, ruining the game we had in progress. We were kept in our cells for two hours for seemingly no reason before our cell doors were unlocked.
It turns out that the guys who were let go down the hallway were caught out of place and the guard in my dorm got into trouble for letting them out. The guard said he was pushed out of the way when he tried to stop them, and that is how the sergeant got angry enough to lock us down for a few hours. There was never any physical contact; I saw exactly what happened. If the guard had just been more assertive in his position, none of the later events would have occurred.
My coworker left today.
I don't know how he's doing as far as his faith goes, but I think he has a good head on his shoulders. He's been gone from the world for eight years, so he has a lot to adjust to.
I pray that he would establish a good track record that would give him confidence to head in the right direction in all areas of his life.
Sometimes I just have to laugh at the new hires and their gung-ho attitude toward their jobs. I had a run in with a new guy at lunch today and he sure was eager to show off his new-found power over inmates. I don't think it turned out like he expected, though.
At lunch I sat with two friends, eating and sharing conversation. The new guard, a short, round-faced black guy, came by and knocked on the steel table twice and moved on. Usually, when a guard knocks on the table, they add "time to go" afterward as a way to get us to finish up. However, inmates also knock the table twice as a way of saying "excuse me" before getting up from the table. Since the new guy didn't say anything when he knocked, I joked that he must have been telling us "excuse me" before leaving.
The guy next to me quipped that the guard reminded him of Carlton, from Fresh Prince. We all turned to look and chuckled at the resemblance. The other guy started humming one of the songs from the show and we all laughed. The new guy was too far away to hear the comments but saw us laughing and came over in a huff.
"Oh yeah, you think that's funny?" he asked as he leaned into my face. "Will it be funny when I take your ID and write you a case?"
"Really?" I gave him a quizzical look. "Here's my ID. Good luck with the case."
I knew he had no reason to write any of us a case so I didn't mind letting him show off his "authority". This knowledge was confirmed when I was called to the sergeant's office later.
"Johnson, it says here that you received a case for disobeying a direct order, but you were laughing at the table? This doesn't make sense."
"I was never given an order to do anything, sir. That includes handing over my ID, which I did voluntarily because the guard suggested it might be funny."
After a short explanation, the sergeant leaned back, put his hands behind his head and grinned. "You may leave now, Mr. Johnson."
The case was gone.
While waiting in the hallway for our boss to show up this afternoon, my coworker surprised me. He told me he received a positive answer from parole and he would be leaving soon. That wasn't the surprising part, though. This guy is an atheist but he broke down earlier this week and asked God is He was there and, if so, would He show Himself somehow.
"So, is this a sign or what?" he asked me almost nervously.
"I don't know for sure one way or the other. It would be something worth asking God about. I think if Someone that big wanted your attention He would probably get it. I also think He loves you enough to give you a decent answer."
"Well, it kinda freaked me out, but I guess I'll look into it."
I think it's so cool that God is working on this guy and that he had the courage to ask me about it. I can't give him all the answers, but I can point him in the right direction.
*
Voltaire
I moved into a new dorm today, thank goodness. It took a little bit of work this time. I wanted to make sure I made it into a peaceful, quiet dorm and had to wait for a bunk to open up in the right place and the right time to talk to the guy who would move me. After a couple of weeks of vigilance, I was rewarded with a bottom bunk in a big cell in a quiet pod with a few friends.
My new cellie is a short, stocky black guy named Freddy. I know who he is from his frequent visits to the library and I know he's a decent guy. He was excited to see me, I guess because I'm an easy access to books and a different sort of guy than most in here.
This first night I was invited to a table where five other guys were playing a card game. If we game this much I'm sure I ended up in a good spot!
I just wrote about gung-ho guards that think they are the bee's knees, but, on the other end of the spectrum are the guards who don't assert themselves enough. That brings bad results for both sides as the following example shows.
