I first learned the song, “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”, during a roundtrip for a family vacation. My sister and her friend began singing it as if it is the anthem of a rebel. The off-key scream-singing of those two adolescents annoyed the parents, which I believe was the sole intent of the song. My mom gave in and started singing too, so I wanted in on the action. I must’ve been around 7 years old, so the being able to count as high as 100 was an simple accomplishment. However, I lacked the superpowers to count backwards, which is essential for the song. Yes, I nailed the first 99 bottles, and then memorized that 98 and 97 came next. I believe my sister came up with some challenge that if someone messed up the order, then we would have to start over again. As predicted, I messed up; thus, 99 bottles would start all over. I gave up from intoxication of the chant, which I believe was my sister’s intention for the “starting all over again” rule. I’m not sure if my sister and her friend finished the entirety of the song, but they did manage to chip their way through a good majority of it.
While 99 Bottles counts backwards, I’m counting forward during this 99th week of incarceration. For me, the number 99 invokes pleasant memories of learning that song and is significant, especially with religious symbolism, like how Muslims attribute 99 names to Allah as a way of saying that God is all. During this 99th week of my incarceration, the prison recognized Columbus Day, which of course is a controversial holiday to pay respects to someone who harbored slaves. For the holiday, we had a decent meal, which was a quarter-chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, mac&cheese, and a delicious cinnamon streusel. I was able to help coordinate and facilitate Bingo! Half of the prizes were stolen by an inmate, which was a bit upsetting, but everyone seemed to have a good time despite smaller prizes of popcorn and Gatorade packets. Overall, it was a busy work week, and the weather continued to cooperate for some pickleballing. As always, thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and for all the encouraging support. I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful week – continue to be mindful of any little miracle in your life 🙂