Okay, it was not a so quiet night last night – in fact, it was quite a bit louder than last night’s peace. We have a final count at 9:00 pm every night, which means that we must stand attentive while two guards walk through each dormitory and official count us. It only takes about 5 minutes for this process, which also happens at 4 pm every day. Once the count was done, the guys seemed overly excited and began cooking their meals, having discussions, and constantly coming in/out of the dormitory from the common area. So my wing has the reputation for being loud. I’ve chatted with others in different wings and they’ve only expressed how important quiet is after lights go out. I do not think that many of the guys in my wing have the same responsibilities of working during the day as other wings.
I also overslept through breakfast and morning wake-up – thank you chronic fatigue, but lunch is served at around 11 am which is tolerable. Today’s main course was a fish patty sandwich with coleslaw and green split peas. Yes, finally, the green split peas is what I expected the clumpy mess of green chunks with absolutely no flavor – this was the prison food that I expected. While the meal was not the best, it was sustaining and important.
My bunkmate told me that I should find a job before I am assigned one since the assigned jobs can be the worst ones. I first tried the chapel, which is a beautiful building. Unfortunately, no one was in the building and it has been locked over the past few days. Then, I proactively went to the education department and saw someone at a desk. I knocked, entered, and was greeted, “What’s your name?’ I shared my name, and department head shared that he was 2-hours from calling me down to his office. Apparently every guy here must have a review of their education record, which means that they are tested for learning disorders, a GED, and any other learning concerns. While I shared my credentials, the department head reviewed the education section of my presentence report (PSR), which I was told is the most important document that I will have while incarcerated. It is absolutely true.
The department head commented that he did not see independent verification that I had advanced degrees. I did push back and indicate that I know the PSR contained a comments about verification. He was a bit sassy, but then continued that he thought I would be a good candidate for the Tutor/Mentor program that would be considered a job. He shared that the job would have a balance between educating adults, but that those adults were ones with learning disabilities and ones that I would be living with. He told me to apply for the job after I completed my week of orientation (whenever that begins). No schedule has been determined for me at this point, so I am basically free floating throughout the compound.
Before I knew it, it was time for dinner, since lunches and dinners are served on a friendly senior citizen timeframe. Dinner was exceptionally good with a traditional stir-fried chicken with a lovely duck sauce. The meal was excellent. I would have paid for it on some random week night if I was too lazy to cook or re-heat dinner. During dinner, my name was called to report to health services. This loud announcement butchers my last name, but I know who they are calling since the other name was the fellow who checked-in the same day as me. I ran into him in the dining hall so we walked to the next building and caught up. The nurse quickly checked our arms, then quipped: “How are ya enjoying your stay here?” The other guy reiterated how friendly and helpful everyone has been, then the nurse responded, “We are hospitable and human here.” I truly do not believe that he was being sarcastic. It is actually refreshing to know that we are being treated with respect and dignity despite the whole reason that any one of us is incarcerated.
After dinner, I met a few guys from the Ohio (East Cleveland and Elyria) and two others from Indiana. These guys are superbly nice and friendly. I suspect the guys from the Cleveland area (who knew each other) were part of some gang/drug activity. I did not really inquire in detail, but they simply indicated that they would not qualify for earlier release since guns were involved.
In one of the common rooms at the center of the housing unit, I was so bored I invited my self to a table with three guys that were seemingly trying to play cards. I inquired if they needed a fourth, and they asked if I knew how to play Spades. Thankfully, I know many card games from college, and Spades is one of the more boring ones in my opinion. Maybe I will have the patience to teach Spummy (looking at Seth) – Spummy is a take on Rummy and Spades, which is an oddly made-up game that my friend, Seth, showed me how to play. It is catchy and requires two decks.
After about an hour, we ended playing, and I came to the computer room to blog. When I opened the computer, I saw that there was a new release on earned time credits for the First Step Act (FSA), which was a bi-partisan act signed by Trump that took effect in January of 2022. The bill was the first major reform for nonviolent offenders in the federal prison system. As inmate earn good time, then they earn time off. This time off varies from 10 to 15 days credit for every 30 days participating in the program depending on how well behaved they are while incarcerated. The good news for me is that I qualify for the FSA and will hopefully earn credits. In the past, if an inmate was good, then they would receive an automatic 85% (which actually calculates to 87%) time off.
In my situation of 78 months, I would only be required to serve 85% of that time in the past. Now, they apply the 85% plus the earned credits. I hope that for every 1 year served that I will receive 6 month credit. The credits then are added to apply to home confinement or a half-way house. For example, if I served 36 months, then I should receive about 18 months credit, which means 18 months could be served on home confinement. At present, since I am not in a specialized program which takes off an addition 1 year, I would have to serve short of 4 years then about a year on home confinement or halfway house. The good news under the FSA is that it really helps out my situation and hopefully I would be able to shave a year off my sentence if I am able to qualify for the specialized program of RDAP or residential drug and alcohol abuse program. In summary, it is all a numbers game and how well someone is able to advance through the bureaucrat system as a cog in the wheel. Truly, on paper, we are just cogs and not people to help the system function!