SNOWSTORM BS

A snowstorm was in the forecast for the weekend, so the prison ordered my work crew to spread rock salt around the facility. We came out after lunch call, being instructed on what to do, then we started working. I had a five-man crew, and knew we would get the job done quickly.

We huddled together, discussing who would do what. Since there were five of us, we took a section and headed for these industrial trash cans filled with sand/rock salt. They each weighed 80 to 100 pounds. We grabbed a push cart and hoisted them onto it, then departed for the sections where we would litter the ground with sand/rock salt.

As we did our job, we enjoyed the cold, chatting about our evening plans. We knew we would be called out to shovel the anticipated 5 inches of snow. So, no late-night TV viewing. This was on our minds as we tossed sand/rock salt everywhere.

It took us a few hours to complete the job. Once done, we returned what we used, then headed back to our housing units. I grabbed my shower bag, washed up, then hopped on a phone and called my family.

While I was on the phone, the booth officer called for us to head back out to work. I didn't go because I was on the phone. So, one of my coworkers who was housed with me headed out and saw what we were being called for. He came back in hours later, looking pissed off. I approached him, wondering what was going on. He explained that he was ordered to remove all the sand/rock salt from the facility because they worried someone would slip.

When incarcerated, these were the moments where those in authority showed how stupid they could be. We spent hours doing as they ordered, then were told to sweep it up. My coworker and I just shook our heads, then got ready for the snowstorm.

I'm in bed sleep, when my cell door opened. I didn't get up because I'm on the top bunk. My celly checked out what was going on, finding out that it was time for me to go to work. It was 2 AM, and when I peered out my barred window, the snow covered the ground in a thick layer.

I dressed for the cold. I'm talking thermal socks (2 pairs), thermal bottoms, and a top. A sweater, a skull cap, gloves, a work suit, a jacket, and boots. I drank some warm water, knowing that I would be out there for hours, and the chow hall wouldn't be open for me to grab something to drink.

I marched out of my cell and met up with my work crew. We marched out into the snow and headed for the boulevard officer. He met us, sharing that we needed to clear the boulevard of snow...with a blue bin. If you don't know what that is, it's what the laundry workers toss the clothes in and push around the facility. We had to lie it on its side, then push it. Honestly, we knew that we had no choice, because if we quit, we would be fired. So, my coworker and I got to work.

We threw our backs into it. We had to stop frequently, because the snow piled up inside the bin. We dumped it to the side and continued. The crazy part was that as we cleared a path, the snow covered it up again. We stopped, figuring out a better way to get the job done. I found the rock salt and a squeegee.

We worked in tandem, moving snow, and me using the squeegee to get the snow removed completely from the ground, then I spread rock salt on it. Our system worked, and the lieutenant noticed our hard work. He told us to take a break and warm up in the chow hall.

We headed into the chow hall and discovered they made us trays from the staff side. The food was always better than population's food. We scarfed down some Philly steak sandwiches, fried squash, and potatoes with onions, but they only served us coffee to drink. I'm not a fan, and the only substitute was lukewarm water. I drank it, then headed back to work.

My main crew was joined by trash workers. They didn't know the way the higher-ups wanted the job done, so we shared what they wanted; it pissed them off that we told them what to do. So, they left us to do the remainder of the facility alone. We didn't care because we found our groove at that point and got the job done.

We cleared the entire facility of snow by 5:30 AM. We were thanked by the lieutenant, then headed back to our housing units. We couldn't shower, due to institutional head count. So I waited, and waited until 8:00 AM.

We ate in our cells that morning. After breakfast was served, I escaped my cell for a hot shower. My coworkers were sleeping, but me, I had work to do. So, I sat in the day room, writing letters to my family. I spent the entire day doing that, but when I finally hit my head on my pillow, it was lights out.

We never went out for the entire day. When we did, my work crew and I were mad as hell. Why? The prison opened the gates for a snowplow to come in and remove all the snow from the boulevard.

That was some BS...but we did get a hot meal out of it. No, I'm being sarcastic. What they did to us was total BS.