Today was commissary day at the prison. I'm not an inmate, so no, I'm not blogging from my jail cell on a cell phone. I work there. If you think prisoners in prison, only get bread and water, you're sorely mistaken. I watch as they line up to receive the items they ordered a few days earlier. Garbage bags full of cookies, soup, sausage, gym shoes, and hundreds (thousands?) of other items available, if they have the money. They routinely beg their family members for money so they can buy their items. Many don't eat the prison food. They subsist entirely on what they buy from the commissary. And if you think they live in a little cell, with iron bars on them, think again. For those of you who are veterans, and made it through boot camp, you can relate to the modern prison conditions. They live in dorms, of which there are around 100 prisoners in each dorm. Some dorms are open, with bunk beds running down each side of a large room, while others have individual rooms, without doors, where 4 prisoners share the space. Each dorm has a day room in the middle, which has 2 HDTV sets. The sound on the TV is piped into a radio transmitter, so they listen to the TV on the walkman radios, each prisoner is provided when they check in. In the day room are microwave ovens, telephones, and an Ice machine. Some dorms even have video games. The prisoners favorites of course is the first-person-shooters. I was shocked to learn that they're even allowed to play these kinds of games. On one dorm in the prison, you will find pool tables. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the state would deem it a good idea to let convicted felons pay their debt to society while playing pool, not to mention the weapon potential of pool sticks and pool balls (They put the ball in a sock, and swing it). Beyond that, hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner is served, in dining halls reminiscent of boot camp, only not nearly as organized. It's no wonder the criminals of America are not afraid of going to prison. There's really nothing to be afraid of. Each dorm has a shower room, with something like 6 shower heads. You will never find more than 1 prisoner in the shower, taking a long hot shower, compliments of the taxpayers. They put a chair in front of the shower entrance to inform others that the shower is currently occupied.
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