Holidays On The Job
In 1968 I was working at a very rough prison in another
state.
Of
course, being new, I got the "pleasure" of working on Christmas Eve on the
graveyard shift. It was the first Christmas I had ever had to work away from
my family. I was working a tower and, man, was it lonely and sad! I can't sing
for anything, but that night I started singing every Christmas carol I knew. I
sang very softly thinking I wouldn't bother anyone. When I finished singing,
it was very quiet. Then I heard, "That was nice!", and "Thank you!" from my
fellow Officers on other towers. (It was then that I found out that our towers
had open mikes to all the other towers and to Master Control.) That night I
started seeing and understanding that at times like this it is important that
we share what we have with each other, even bad singing.
On New Year's Eve, I again had the "pleasure" of working a tower. Of course,
no one told me what to expect at 12 Midnight. My tower faced one of the double
cellblocks. At 12 Midnight I started seeing a whitish powder and burning
toilet paper flying through the air in both cellblocks. Being a new alert
Officer, I immediately yelled into my open mike, "Fires in J/K hall!" Nothing
was said in response. I waited a little while and again yelled about the fire
and things being thrown in both cellblocks. Again, nothing. I started hearing
some snickers and a laugh or two. I realized then that I had been had, but did
not know how. Finally I received a call from one of the older Officers and he
informed me that it was state policy that on New Year's Eve every inmate in
the facility was to be awakened and given a cupcake. The inmates then set
toilet paper on fire and threw cleaning powder. This tradition had gone on for
years. Yes, this is true. The next New Year's Eve I was working a Max unit and
had to hand out cupcakes at 12 Midnight.
My first Christmas and New Year's working in prison were eye openers. I
realized that the holiday season could be just as hard on staff as it was on
the inmates. When you go home to your family after the shift, you can't help
but hold your loved ones tighter and be thankful for what you have.
Take care,
The Old Screw
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