HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY, SENATOR COTTON "Thank you for your service." From, your fellow veterans* behind bars. For whom you would deign to be- Judge, Jury and Executioner Of course, we wouldn't be here if we didn't belong here. Right? *In my unit, about 20%

This is a great place to learn life lessons. The one I just learned is never to think its a good idea to do a favor (I distinguish a kindness from a favor), for a CO. It will either be unappreciated or put you in a position to take blame for their ineptitude. So I … Continue reading Never Underestimate →

She withstood the tsunami that drove itself into, and over our lives. It buckled our knees and induced vertigo, but she got up and carried on. My co-warrior as we fought the beast we could not slay. I was taken away, the earth shook under her feet, but she did not falter. She washed her … Continue reading SHE →

[The following are the thoughts of a good friend of mine, here in federal prison camp. He has become my favorite sounding board for verifying my observations. This came up in conversation, and I asked him to write it up for your benefit.] My prison journey commenced in 2016. Upon reporting to Butner (NC) I … Continue reading BOB’S AHA MOMENT →

Cell phones in prison, other than those belonging to C.O.s, are contraband, meaning they are illegal to have. The BOP doesn't want prisoners having them for fairly obvious reasons. First, all phone calls need to be monitored, so that prisoners won't use them to conduct illegal activities (such as arranging for other contraband to be … Continue reading Through the Looking Glass →

The standard federal prison conversation (this one has the added benefit of being real): Me: Roman, when do you get out? Roman: 2025 Me: Sorry, I asked, brother. Roman: Been down 7 years. Me: Geesh, how many did you kill? Roman: None. I wished I had killed somebody. Vic: Yeah, then you would have done … Continue reading Killing Is The Lesson →

Prison has its share of problems. In contention for chief among them is the proximity to strangers you'd otherwise never spend a minute around. When one of my sons was young he used to scratch his head at the fact that his mother and I weren't scheduling sleep overs with our friends on the weekends. … Continue reading Prison Problems- #3,747 →