I began my work today at 2:21 a.m. I gathered my writing gear and left my cubicle to walk toward the room where I write. When I passed one of the cubicles on my left, I noticed that it was empty. An acquaintance with whom I’d been friendly was assigned to the cubicle, so seeing it stripped of sleeping mats and personal property suggested that my friend had been taken to SHU, the special housing unit.
My schedule of sleeping early, waking early, exercising alone, and occupying my time with reading and writing leaves me oblivious to the prison news. This man whose cubicle was now empty was beginning a five-year sentence and he had introduced his parents and children to Carole and me during a visit. I don’t know what led him to the SHU but I would have liked to have helped him with an adjustment of avoiding it.
Time in the SHU is not difficult for a man with a strong mind but the mind isn’t so strong for a man who is new to prison. While locked in the cell, time can drag if the prisoner doesn’t create ways to stay busy. During the time that I’ve been locked in SHU cells, I’ve exercised by running in place, by strength training with pushups and deep knee bends, and by reading. I kept a Bible with me and I could read one book every day. In some ways, time in SHU could be a break, though I don’t expect new prisoners would welcome the solitude.
Family members worry about their loved ones while they’re locked in SHU. I’m convinced that imprisonment is more stressful on family members than it is on prisoners while they serve their time. There isn’t anything I can write that will make it easier but I should point out that time in SHU is part of the prison journey. I’ve spent a few of my 270 months in SHU cells. Family could help by ordering paperback books from Amazon; Carole would make my time easier by sending two or three books twice each week. The time passes, and in the end, all will be well.
After my writing session this morning, I ran 10 miles, and followed the run with 600 pushups.
[consecutive running log: 3,820 miles over the past 430 days]
[pushups in 2010: 16,600]
Monday, 15 February 2010
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