I often comment about the weather, not due to any lack of content, but at its oddity. This past February must have been the warmest one that I experienced, despite a day or two of a cold, wintery burst. If the wild life here is any indication of an earlier spring, several geese and ducks have already built nests and laid eggs. For me, the weather is an opportunity to escape the mundane walls of my bunk area and enjoy the fresh air. Typically, cabin fever begins to percolate this time of year, but as of yet, no fever here (thank goodness). It seems like the beginning of March will also welcome some beautiful weather. You bet that I'll be playing pickleball in my free time.
Last week, I shared my first experience of having to complete a drug test and some of the terrible contrabands that have made themselves known. The most common contrabands are vapes. When I first arrived, actual cigarettes were more prevalent, but vapes have taken the lead. These vapes have the juices and oils for thousands of "hits" or "drags", but they are electric devices with a limited battery supply. So, charging vapes is an important aspect to maximizing their use. The universal charger for the radios and tablets are often hijacked for charging vapes. This past week, some brilliant inmate, decided to charge three vapes during day while the computers were being maintenanced. The officer servicing the equipment immediately closed down our computer lab for the week. While frustrating not to have access to my emails, I completely understand the "group punishement" concept, which is the most commonly enforced disciplinary approach. Thankfully, by Friday, access was granted to the computer room. Do you think these guys learned their lesson? Absolutely not.
Overall, the week went by very quickly, and I had a wonderful visit from my parents on Saturday. With the inmate population dropping, the visitation room was not busy and somewhat quiet. I was the 465th inmate when I arrived at Morgantown. The population then shot up to 650 guys by the summer of 2023 (about half of the prison's capacity), then time credits from the First Step Act were finally being implemented and now the population has dropped to 390 guys (and decreasing by the day), which is almost the size of my high school graduating class. I hope you have a phenomenally wonderful week and keep an eye out for a little miracle 🙂