A Typical Day

A lot of people want to know what a typical day is like for me. Well, the lights come on at 6 am. They call breakfast about 6:30 am. I typically skip breakfast because it is almost always oatmeal, a piece of plain white bread, and milk. I leave the dorm after my bed is made and head to the walking track. I typically walk about 3 miles a day. Then, around 10 am they call us back to the dorm. That is right, all your movements are controlled. We are typically called to lunch at 11:15 am. There we go through a school lunchroom style service and seating. A typical lunch might be some type of soy hamburger meat, a tortilla, carrots, and black beans, and none of this food is seasoned. I come back to the dorm and wait for another move. I usually go to the education building and watch a 3 hour video about a topic and answer questions to earn Adult Continuing Education (ACE) credits. When they call us back I typically do my Bible Study. By this time it is 4 pm standing count, we have to stand by our bed while officers come around and count us. You would be surprised at the number of times they mess up the count and have to start over. Then, we wait until 5:30 pm for supper. At this time, we are served another unseasoned meal consisting possibly of rice and pinto beans with maybe a scoop of chicken salad. I come back to the dorm and take my shower. While in the shower i wash my shorts, underclothes, socks, and shirt from earlier in the day as I take a bath. If you send them to laundry they come back brown because of the cheap towels and washcloths they provide. I then take time to answer emails and best of all I call my wife, Amy. I am allowed to speak to her for 15 minutes at a time. We are allotted a total of 510 minutes in a month. Emails cost us 5 cents per minute. I then have another group Bible Study at 8 pm. We take turns conducting the Bible Study five days a week. Last, I go back to my bunk, typically read a book, and listen to gospel music. We are then called at 10 pm to stand again for a count. Once the count is over the majority of the lights are cut out. I typically put on my Bi-pap machine and go to sleep. This seems to be my routine. Exciting huh? I wish I could say the food is good or even satisfying, but it is far from it. I have already lost 23 lbs. I do spend a lot of my day journaling to document my journey. The only reason I am making it is because I stay close to the Lord and I have about 2 or 3 guys that I trust and talk to regularly. Make no mistake, this place is filled with undesirables and it’s a constant navigation to make sure I stay clear of them. Please continue to pray for me, my wife, my kids, and my family. Thank you for reading. God Bless!