Today I moved from the bunk where I was randomly assigned when I arrived at Atwater camp to a bunk that I prefer. As I have written in books about prison adjustment, I consider a bunk assignment and a job assignment as two of the most important factors in settling into a good routine. My [...]
Other prisoners frequently ask me how far I run each day. We live in an open environment, with everyone knowing what everyone else is doing. They see me on the track on the morning when they’re walking off to their assigned job details, and I’m still running when they return. I run because it gives me [...]
I received another anonymous letter from a reader who identifies himself as Tex. It’s the first letter I received from him since my transfer from the Taft prison camp to the prison camp in Atwater. He asked a few questions that I addressed in articles I wrote since he mailed his letter. Specifically, he wanted [...]
A cloud of gloom covered me yesterday. I’m not ready to write about the reasons why, but I woke today feeling much more refreshed, ready to resume my climb. That’s the amazing resilience that comes with good planning. I woke this morning at 5:40. The email service at Atwater camp opens around six. I then [...]
Today I enjoyed my first visit with Carole at Atwater camp. Our time together was wonderful. For the past several years, while I was confined inside the perimeters of the Taft Federal Prison Camp, Carole and I had to limit our visits to no more than one time each week. For some prison families that [...]
I’ve been speaking with Bob, a prisoner who recently has begun to serve a seven-year sentence at the Taft federal prison camp. Prior to imprisonment he worked as a hedge fund manager and a real estate developer in high-end communities like Santa Barbara and Malibu. Despite earning millions of dollars over the past decade, complications [...]
Some prisoners can be very creative with the food they prepare inside the housing units. Since I eat all of my meals in the housing unit rather than the chow hall, I appreciate the culinary skills other prisoners develop. Without anything more than microwaves, plastic cookware, and ingredients that the commissary sells, the prison chefs [...]
It really disappoints me when I hear about prisoners fighting in the camp. One of the reasons that I keep such odd hours is to avoid interactions with unstable prisoners. I heard about an altercation that happened in one of the television rooms. Apparently, one prisoner wasn’t happy with the order of things regarding television [...]
One of the many challenges that come with living in prison concerns the changing rules. Staffing changes every 90 days remind prisoners that different guards may enforce rules with differing degrees of severity. Here at the Taft Federal Prison Camp, some visting room guards encourage a family-friendly atmosphere. Other guards can be obtrusive and demand [...]
I’ve never left prison custody since my initial arrest in 1987. During that time my grandfather and my father passed away, and I’ve lost some mentors of mine to death as well. The length of my sentence precluded the possibility of my being allowed to attend the funerals, and the length of my imprisonment has [...]
