I am working for the food service. They placed me on the A.M. shift. I wake up at 2 a.m. and head to work. I finish around 10:45 a.m. I'm not adjusted to this new schedule yet. I'm still falling asleep at 11 p.m. then waking up three hours later to go to work. I'm exhausted. During my four years in D.O.C. I have never worked this hard. All the other jobs are a joke compared to food service. They work your ass. Decide not to work, then you are getting locked up for refusal to work (that's confinement time). The only perk is you can eat. And eat is what I do.
Food service has it's own dorm. Two sides: one is for the A.M. shift, the other is for the P.M. shift. So far it seems to be the most disrespected dorm on the compound. You would think since we feed everyone this wouldn't be the case.
When I first came to prison an old-timer showed me the ropes. He said, "Always take care of the men who wash your clothes and the ones who feed you." Makes sense to me. The laundry man sews, patches, and replaces your clothes. Likewise, the kitchen feeds you. Yet the guys who work food service are basically shitted on. This has caused me to resort back to yet another rule of the chain-gang...look out for yourself.
You come to prison by yourself. You will leave prison by yourself. Don't worry about what the other guy does...worry about yourself.
Along the way you will meet some good guys. Those are the ones you look out for. The ones who will look out for you. They are few and far between. None-the-less....they are here. My first week in this new job, and I have already found some. I have a new bunkie, a new work out crew, and a new laundry man. My life behind bars just hist restart in some weird way. My first week in this new job has literally flown by. That's a good thing.
I have heard dozens of stories about food service. The cook sweating over your food. Meals prepared and prepped by bare, unwashed hands. Guys forced to work even when they are sick. The list goes on. Truth is...it's hard NOT to sweat when you are in full uniform in a 100+ degree kitchen. Then you stand over a boiling kettle or a steaming dishwasher. I'm in a dish room. I load cafeteria trays onto racks that are then ran through a commercial dishwasher with boiling water to sterilize them. The trays are then removed and stacked on drying racks. Remember this is not a mom and pop diner. This is 1,100 to 1,200 inmates being fed in a 2-hour rush. This isn't fine dining.
So yeah....
Now I'm the guy standing in a kitchen sweating my ass off. For what it's worth, we eat the food we make. This is prison, not five star dining. When I can, I'm going back for seconds. Right now, I'm about to enjoy two full days off. On the street I used to say I lived for Friday. My Friday is now on Sunday. My plan is to sleep. While you chase the American Dream....I chase my release date.
Check out who else does the dishes in D.O.C.......
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| Former Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/23/blagojevich-prison-washes-dishes_n_1447437.html |
4 comments:
Your shift sounds brutal. I do hope your internal clock gets better acclimated soon.
"Soft" hands while washing dishes, your facility must use Palmolive. Madge would be so proud! Yep, just totally dated myself right there. Google that shit for any of you younger than this old lady. haha
Food service is the "most disrespected dorm on the compound" ... what the hell, haven't they heard the news stories of spit and/or snot in your drive-through burger ... the semen in the water bottle at work. Personally, I never understood failing to notice the jiz in the water bottle. Come on woman, wasn't that shit a little cloudy?! But I digress ... so sorry y'all are so disrespected.
I would much prefer eating food containing your sweat than that douchebag, Blagojevich's sweat ... just so ya' know. :)
I hope Sunday affords you some good sleep.
Keep your head up, JJ, and keep chasing your release date.
Love ya' :)
Happy to hear you've found some new "good guys."
Hard work does tend to make the time pass buy more quickly, and that's always a good thing.
I had coffee with Michael this morning...after his work shift. He gave me a little more detail I'll share with you.
After inmates eat they throw their trays (which have food compartments formed in the hard plastic) through the open window at the dishwashers...which is what JJ does. The dishwashers, in the 100 degree weather, are also wearing plastic garbage bags with a hole cut for their head and arms. they are also wearing rubber boots to their knees. This on top of full uniform. The garbage bags are to protect them from the high pressure water spray overspray when they clean the trays off prior to putting them in the dishwasher. Now that's some real heat!! Michael said he sweats buckets and his boots are full of his sweat by the end of his shift. But he wasn't complaining. Just the facts ma'am!! He explained there are two breakfasts a week that everyone shows up for. They are biscuits and gravy and eggs and grits. The other days are hit and miss by inmates but they make sure to go to chow for those two days.
The MOM
Just reading "Moms" comment and saw that my comment certainly didn't post as written. Not sure how that happened, even less sure of how I didn't notice earlier. Regardless, just shuffle it around as the thoughts are all there. haha
"Mom" ... wow, that just sounds freakishly hot, like unreal kind of heat. I can't imagine being covered in all that plastic and rubber, PLUS full uniform underneath. On warm days, I've been known to come close to ripping the plastic drape off of my body during a haircut. JJ is straight beast status. :)
Aw... Yucky :( I'm sorry brother!!
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