IZ's 2008 prison blog. Entry 1: The Loop

- The LOOP

January 11th, 2008

1st hand description of the loop...(booking process) while it's still fresh in my mind. (As if it mattered)

3:30 PM - Enter jail, get strip-searched, go into holding tank...wait...

5:30 PM - Move from one holding tank, to another equally disgusting one...wait...(For those who are unclear as to what a holding tank is, it's a cold or hot concrete room that smells like piss).

7:30 PM - Take digital fingerprints...go to another holding tank...wait...

8:30 PM - More people are brought into the holding tank...

9:45 PM - The air begins to suffocate me...I notice the maximum occupancy sign says

16, there are more than 25 people in the room...My stomach is growling...Wait some more...

10:15 PM - Im watching 3 deputies repeatedly slam a guys face into the wall for not following directions. He looks like he's kicking (withdrawing from) heroin...He looks absolutely confused...I feel sorry for the guy...Being in the "the loop" is torture enough, to be kicking "H" on top of that....that's harsh...He's not throwing up so I know he's a few days into it already...The reason he's so confused is because hardcore heroin addicts can't fall asleep for up to weeks after they stop using...I've seen guys in jail who think that they're at 7 eleven buying cigarettes after not sleeping for a week or 2....Staying awake high on meth, and not being able to fall asleep while kicking heroin are two completely different things...On meth you're spun out and amped up, when you're kickinng heroin, you just can't fall asleep. Either way, neither is a healthy way to live...In this case, however, this guy can just be a flat out moron, there's plenty in here...

10:16 PM - Waiting commences...

2:00 AM - We strip down again, take cold showers and go into another holding tank...after the shower, the room doesn't smell as bad....Or more specifically, the people don't smell as bad~ I fall asleep...

(the loop... to be cont...)

-IZ