"Letters from Hell"- Part 2

Welcome to the second in my series "Letters from Hell". Despite what TDA said in the prelude to Part I this one is not quite a doozy. More of a description of my surroundings again. There are some doozy letters that are coming up as the summer and jail got hotter and the inmate crowding escalated. I do introduce an inmate that will be the subject of many letters in the future – Detroit. As you may have guessed Detroit is from Detroit- aah the originality – he has a very sordid past of gang banging, drugs, and death.


May 18, 2006

Dear Paul and Nan,

Greetings from cell block A. I hope this letter finds you doing well. I am doing fine and staying out of trouble so far. I get my first “store” this week. That’s what they call items ordered from the commissary. I ordered me some real shoes – they are like white boat shoes – they cost $9. I also ordered 2 pairs of boxers, 2 pairs of socks, and a t-shirt. A fellow inmate gave me a thermal underwear top and so far that has been my prize possession. You wouldn’t believe how chilly it is in here. For food from the commissary I ordered 3 honey-buns, 7 orange juices, 2 beef-sticks, 1 pack of cookies, 2 packs of m&m’s, a ½ box of Club crackers, 3 bags of cheetos, 3 bags of jalapeno bites, and 2 bags of hard candy (root beer and jolly ranchers). I also ordered some soap, shampoo and deodorant.

Now the big thing will be to keep my “store” from being stolen. I haven’t quite figured that one out yet. Everyone in my cell has said they will look out for each others store, but I have been told there may be thieves among our own ranks.

I am somewhat concerned about a new cellmate. He is the same guy they put in solitary confinement the 1st day I got to the cell block. He has a history of violence (he is the guy that knocked out another inmate’s “the Guvner” teeth out) but maybe his 10 day stay in “Seg” has calmed him down. His name is “Detroit”. So far he seems to have been bitten by the religious bug, so we shall see.

There are a lot of colorful names here, the aforementioned “Detroit” and “the Guvner”. There is also “Beetlejuice”, “Chicken Wing”, Burger King”, Toppy”, “Peanut”, “Baldy” and the biggest trouble maker of all “Gold Teeth” or “Goldy” as some call him.

We had a minor race war last night caused by the volume of the TV. It came down to all the whites backing one guy and all the blacks backing one guy. It was a stand-off and no blows were passed – just a lot of shouting and chest thumping.

Mentally I am doing pretty good. I am of course constantly thinking about losing my house and the reality of having no money when I get out. But just surviving in here keeps my mind off it during the day. The worst times are really late in the night and early in the morning. Especially in the mornings

My craving for alcohol is zero but my craving for cigarettes is still very strong. I have been getting headaches and I think that is probably the reason. Of course getting an aspirin is not an option. Nor is getting a cigarette.

I spoke with dad last night (Wednesday) for about 5 minutes but we got cut off for no known reason. He seemed to be in good spirits with business doing well and the yard shaping up as planned.

Tell Nan I am learning some jail culinary tricks such as a home (jail) made dessert called “Doo Wop” made from honey-buns, candy-bars, m&m’s and water. Also a Mexican treat made by crushing up Doritos adding water to it and putting the mixture in a tortilla shell. Sort of like a tamale. I have also been shown how to make my own spices out of crushed cheetos and jalapeno bites – it’s not Natures Seasons but it’s better than nothing on this slop they call food.

Biggest things I miss in jail so far:

Sunshine and fresh air

Underwear

A decent shower

Girls

A nice bed

Chairs with backs

Cokes

Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Music

“Good” books

News

Cigarettes

Intelligent conversation

Privacy

I saw on TV where the “Davinci Code” starts tomorrow and that really bums me out. The fact that I will most likely miss the whole summer is really not good.

Paul, thanks for taking care of everything for me while I’m in. I think things will be much better when I get out. Prior to this event I had definite “visions” or premonitions that this is where I would end up. Lots of things here give me a strong sense of déjà vu. Now however, I have a sense that things are going to get better. To me it seems like there may be a light at the end of a tunnel that has been dark for about ten years now.

Love,

Screedler



End of Letter