Earlier this month I took a risk with my allotment of telephone minutes that didn’t pay off. It was a calculated risk that I based on experience. In the past, whenever administrators made changes or updates to the software our Inmate Telephone System (ITS) uses, every man in prison received a fresh 300 minutes of telephone access. When I called Carole on the first of this month I could tell from the recording that changes had been made to the phone system so I made the decision to talk freely. I didn’t think the minutes would count. I was wrong.
By the time I learned that every minute I spent on the phone was counting against my limit of 300 minutes I had already burned through 240 minutes. Because of that, I’ve refrained from using the phone since August 2nd. The separation from Carole felt painful as I’m used to connecting with her through short calls every day. I was bothered by my lack of phone minutes, but today the associate warden of Taft Camp announced that because the phone changes had disrupted so many families, the warden authorized every man to receive an additional 100 minutes. That welcome surprise has eased the anxieties that came from my telephone withdrawal.
As a long-term prisoner I place my connection to society among my highest priorities. All of my limitations require that I rely upon Carole, and when obstacles block me from talking with her I feel a suffocating feeling. For me, prison can feel like I’m underwater and she is a reed through which I draw my every breath. I drown without her. I felt so much better after calling her today.
Besides having access to the telephone again, the associate warden made an announcement that the email system at Taft Camp has moved into a new phase—whatever that means. She said technicians would soon schedule a time to begin introducing the system and installing computer terminals in the housing units. I’m told that each housing unit will receive one terminal, so it sounds as if it may be difficult to access. The unit I’m in confines 125 men, so there will be long lines. I don’t know when we’ll have it or how difficult the terminal will be to access. Whatever the situation, I’m eager for the development. I’ve never sent an email message so the technology will be new and exciting for me—something like a person who once used a telephone for the first time experienced.
Ran 10 miles / 5,425 miles in 608 days
300 pushups / 87,000 pushups in 2010
Thursday, 12 August 2010
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