by White, Walt
Stone came up with an idea he felt each inmate would enjoy. Since there was nothing to keep them busy anyway, they could have an award show where they would give out Camp awards.
The purpose of the show was in two-folds. It would get people to lighten up and make them laugh as many had forgotten how to do that; that was the first and principal purpose. It also served as a medium to recognize what people were good at and appreciate them for that. The biggest problem he could foresee occurring was the ability of the factions forgetting their differences and come together to enjoy each other. In the light of what happened, talking about his idea was out of it. Once he can convince the heads, he should not have problems with the rest of the inmates.
He could not sleep for several reasons. He whiled away the time in the TV room with his friend. There was no movie on tonight. Instead, they showed the Academy Awards rerun. The foundation of the idea got laid. The guys would love it if they did something like it, he thought to himself. So, he pitched his idea to the heads of each faction. He achieved his purpose. Each person agreed it would get fun-filled. They also made their desires to do one thing or the other in the event known.
Sharp had it in mind to make awards in the shop out of scrap metal. Big Tokey gave his consent if he would get the chance to do his rap. Stone did not mind that so much, he was happy that he obliged him his request. Mexican Big Grun wanted a Hispanic food fry and Mariachi music, Thomas caught on the whole idea. They had the message related to their metals right away. The event got fixed for the twenty-fifth of March and Stone set to work. They had about some weeks to plan a successful event.
The next few days, the inmates visited Stone to give him ideas on what they think could contribute to making the event a success. They also had things they would like to do or present. Soon, everybody got caught up in the frenzy of preparation. Hard feelings for the time got put on hold so people could work together. Stone and Big Tokey were still wary of each other, but their faction members worked together. However, it took much tolerance.
Shorty wanted to rig the lights; G-Ray had his band's new song and loved to premiere them at the event. Rhino wanted to DJ. Stone made a request to Lucky to hustle out frying oil and rig up the fryers in the back of the building. Pincher was on duty that weekend. There was an assurance that the cafeteria would open and allowed for their Show.
Old man Q had the idea to make tuxedo shirts out of T-shirts. They would draw a bowtie and buttons on the T-shirts and cut the sleeves off. Bam! They had their version of tuxedo T-shirts. They named it Prison tuxedo. Stone did an excellent work delegating the duties to different people. It was not so since he was a chairman of the board of several companies back home. He thrived on knowing who to give what to do.
He gave each faction a list to provide for the food fry at Commissary. When the Commissary day came, it took the whole of two carriers to hold all the food for the fry. It was astonishing! Old man Q volunteered himself as a presenter at the award show. It is something he had always wanted to do but never got the chance. That meant both Stone and old man Q would take care of the responsibility of handing out the awards to the winners.
Now, Stone had to sit, think and make up the list of the awards to give out. Many people brought ideas on what type award they would like on the show.
He settled on twelve awards:
The Best Hair Award
The Best Microwave Cook Award
The Bunk Master Award
The Crash Test Dummy Award
The Gambler Award
The Loudest Person Award
The Man Rub Award
The Most Ink Award
The Sports Nut Award
The TV Zombie Award
The UN Personal Trainer Award
The Dick of the Year Award
Strange but exciting, Big Tokey was all up for the idea. Since his grand entrance, unenjoyable stay at the hole and less than enviable return, Tokey had never recovered his old self. Big Tokey not only returned a humble man, but he got reduced in size too. When he heard about what Stone had in mind, he showed interest. He did not just show his interest; he became involved in the preparation.
Working with old man Q and Bruno, they delivered lectures and talks of peace to the inmates. Hearing Big Tokey speak about peace brought out a desired response in the people. Bruno and old man Q were peace diehards, but it was a surprise to have Big Tokey talk to them. They took what he said more than the others.
In collating names for the award, they discovered that a sizeable number of the Prisoners had their birthdays in the same month. Ten of them had birthdays in March and what more could Stone had wished for; they were of different races. To Stone, it made it all better. They would also celebrate the men and use that as a medium to unite them all.
The long-awaited day came; the Show day. The excitement was at an all-time high in the Camp. Even the guards were not left out. They got relaxed, a luxury they had not gotten in a long time. They kept critical watch of the inmates, but the tension was a thing of the past.
During events such as this, vigilance was also critical as some Prisoners used such situations to their advantage. The most common thing during such attempts was a Prison break while relaxed, they worked more on surveillance. Several people appeared nervous about the awards and came up to Stone.
"You better not give me a damn award."
The bands were to go first. G-ray and his Band (Rock music) soon got them rocking. After them came Big Tokey and his rap songs and, Martinez and his Mariachi music. They had food after the song renditions. The birthday guys mounted the stage afterward, and they all sang the "happy birthday song." They got showered not with hugs or kisses but plenty of claps on the back as they returned to their seats.
Shorty had rigged up red lights and a spotlight on the performers. It was close to what was obtainable outside Prison. Stone gave him kudos. He put a red cardboard paper in the bottom of the can lights and used the projector to rig a spotlight. It changed the outlook of the cafeteria; the men had stuff locked up inside them if not for the criminal tendencies.
Not all of them had committed actual crimes, anyway. People like him that were victims of circumstances got thrown in alongside the hardened criminals. It was not a time for self-pity for Stone; it was a time to enjoy the rare unity and give awards. Comedy specials came up on the agenda. Three guys would perform from each faction. It is time to discover other talents in entertainment and comedy aside Skitz. Magic Mike talked about farting.
It was hilarious. Only in Prison could one speak of such things and commit such acts in public without being embarrassed. It would take extreme measures outside the Camp to catch him doing such things. He was a prim and proper guy who took etiquette seriously.
After Magic Mike had done his thing, Billy Ray took over the stage. His name alone reminded him of "Billy, the Kid." He got them enlightened on country hillbillies. It was evident he lived its experience.
Head came up and talked about what all inmates liked but had a scarce supply of in Prison, girls. Rhino pumped up the crowd with his DJ music between the comedians. Then came the end which was the award itself.
Old man Q and Stone had changed into their greens and tuxedo shirts earlier. To spice up their appearances, they donned on posh sunglasses. They looked fresh and dashing.
Unfortunately, there was no "babe" around to compliment them, just hot-blooded straight guys. They took over the stage and got their microphones working. They called the names of the awardees. As they gave out each award, the laughs came rolling in as some did not expect the awards and gave off funny behaviors. The guys would bellow out who they thought was the winner or fit the prize.
Old man Q would give the name of the award and call out the nominees. In each category, they had listed out four candidates, but one would win the prize. Stone was charged with the responsibility of calling out the winner. He had fun doing that. After old man Q had mentioned the names of the nominees, he would take over and sigh into t
he microphone. Other times, he would describe whoever the winner was. It was all to make the nominees squirm and keep his audience interested.
They hated those sounds, but when he described, they would chorus the name of who fit the description. Stone would then yell out the winner in the regular academy award way, "and the winner is…" Sharp had made the small metal statues he promised for each award. Each person then makes a drama of collecting the prize. The shy or reluctant ones were the best to watch. They did not like to come out to the front.
Inmates would push and howl, all in jest. By force, they would come forward, collect their award and go back to their seats. Before they would go to their seats, they gave a speech. The best speech got made by Rhino who got the Best Microwave Cook for his delicious burritos. It taught Stone a lesson; no book should get judged by its cover; everyone should prove himself or herself as the case might be.
It was a great and fruitful day. Everyone came up and thanked Stone for the idea and the dedication he put into it to make it a successful event. He thanked them in return for the work they did. He could not have done it all by himself. Above all, he was glad he brought everyone together at least once. In his mind, he was sure he felt the peace that had eluded him the previous days.
DEPARTURE
WHILE INMATES get the chance to leave the Camp, some do not have the opportunity of seeing the outside world again once they get thrown inside it. These are capital offenders who are serving a life sentence. It is so funny people think such inmates doing lifetime imprisonment are recipients of the government's favor; they believe they could have an opportunity of leaving the Prison someday. Stone was getting his chance after fifteen months’ time-served.
Departure from Prison evoked different emotions from various people. Of a truth, no man ever likes the Camp. No sane person loves being locked up for a period, ranging from long to short, gets all form of freedom snatched from him and treated as less human by fellow men. Despite all this trouble, some crazy people do not want to leave the Prison and commit more severe crimes to get put back inside. Some people have nothing left to go back to outside the Camp. Their whole life begins and ends with the Prison.
Often, they made names for themselves in the Camp and feed their egos through the praises of smaller and weaker men. Stone considers these men warped. In his thinking, losing material things should not dictate when a person's life ends. Departure or release from the Federal Prison also had another source of worry.
Most individuals who go inside find out that another jail or Prison want them for something else different from the crime which they served their sentence. So, what happens to them is they get released from the feds and get picked up by the state for a jail sentence. It is for child support or something else they had done before their entrance.
It becomes a matter of leaving one place to get whisked off to another one. Some things mattered more to Stone, losing his children, his baby girl would ruin him. The other category of inmate gets ecstatic once they know they will join their families soon. Stone belonged to that group. He was eager to see his children, most notably his daughter.
Departure was one in a series of steps to see his family again. For those who pass the check during release, it is off to the halfway house for a small time before final release to probation. Stone could not sleep the night before the journey to his being a free man begun. He tossed and turned in his bunk. He even dreamt about the whole thing. He got anxious.
Thinking of everything he had to forego while in the Prison. Stone had not driven a car for fifteen months or even visited a grocery store. Things like taking a walk in the neighborhood without a fear of being followed, having a conversation with a friendly neighbor or playing frisbee in the park, that he had always taken for granted had become the most important. In a few months, he came to appreciate life more and the sacrifices of love. Z had taught him the ultimate lesson. He sure would pay the family a visit after he leaves the damn Prison system for the best. Images and emotions swirled in his mind. He thought of his child more than ever; he missed her.
Stone got up at 6 a.m. ready to hear his name come over the loud speaker for processing. When it got to your turn, you have your name called. Bruno gets to drive you for release; it was his job. The inmates sometimes call the departure day "Sugar day." The reason is that it feels so sweet getting out of the Camp to the outside world. Stone cleared out his locker as if he was feeling reluctant to do it when his mind was running wild with joy.
He piled everything into a box he had gotten from the food warehouse guys the previous day. He gave away most items he had bought through Commissary for his time inside the Camp. The radio went to Rhino with the cooler and his tennis shoes. He was another person he would never forget in his lifetime. Rhino and Z represent those friends that would never leave their buddy hanging. They were faithful men to the core. While Rhino may not talk much, he was always ready to put his gentle cook hands to work because of him. He gave shorts away to old man Q because he respected him like many of the others do too. All his food Commissary items went to make one last meal a night before he left.
Next were all the goodbyes to all the people he had met.
“We wish you good luck.” The inmates would say.
It was strange to become sad to leave the Prison at the same time feel giddy to get out, having the freedom to do what you want. On his first arrival to Prison, he would look to answer his cell phone and then realize where he was and that his phone was gone.
Now, it was the opposite because he had survived fifteen months. He had not received a phone call in fifteen months. He understood what seizing or banning the use of the device did to his children. He would have to revise punishments when he got home. The difference in him was evident and manifested in everything he did now.
After all the goodbyes, he climbed into the White PF cruiser with Bruno. No one else ever gets assigned to the driving job. It was a customized assignment but just on Prison grounds. The drive comprised going from the Camp to the jail. Bruno had earned the trust of the administrator's overtime, and that was his compensation.
The ride over to get released was long and seemed like forever even though it was for a few minutes. Stone got checked back into the jail for processing out; it differed from when he initially came inside the Camp. Unlike the first time, he realized things. He was more relaxed than ever, and nothing seemed to bother him. There was nothing to get jittery about, anyway. He was sure he had no other skeletons in his cupboard to warrant that.
The guards all wished him farewell as he collected his items. They gave him a brand new White t-shirt, new jeans trousers, a bus ticket to Oklahoma City and fifty dollars cash. He had about eight hours for the transfer within which he is to show up at the half-way house in Oklahoma City. The implication of not arriving there at the correct time could get serious. Anything was possible from being declared as an escapee and wanted to a missing fellow.
It was likely that such inmate gets reported as the former rather than the later; the Prison never bears such responsibilities. Stone had not worn his tennis shoes as it was the norm; he wanted to give them to his friend Rhino because Rhino had no Commissary money coming in and had not bought a new pair of tennis shoes in years. The guards did not even note the fact he had his Black boots on instead when he walked out of the facility.
Rhino could hardly fit the tennis shoes but was appreciative, anyway. A guard drove the shuttle that took him to the bus station. It was all an effort to make sure he boards the bus. The guard told him not to go anywhere but to just get on the bus. Apparently, this is the point where lots of guys take off and never report to the half-way house. Stone had no plans to be one of those guys.
As soon as he got on the bus to Oklahoma, the thoughts of his child assaulted him. He wondered what could engage her now. He had plans made for her to see him at in Oklahoma when he arrived there, Stone felt good in his clothes. He felt reborn, and he was a reborn man.
Stone was smok
e-free, alcohol-free, drug-free and in good shape. It was like when he played college football at twenty-one. Things felt excellent. The bus would take six hours to get to Oklahoma City because of construction and traffic. He had to walk a few blocks from the bus station to the location of the half-way house.
He looked up at the Devon Tower in the heart of downtown. It is the tallest building in the city, in the central business district. It towered above every other plaza, standing tall and proud with fifty-two floors. Another tall building that came close was the Chase Tower with thirty-six floors.
For a newbie, it was a pleasurable sight. The central business district as the name suggests, was always busy with every form of a transaction taking place there. A short distance away from the Devon Tower was the BOK Plaza. It looked different now; everything seemed to have changed while he was away.
As the saying goes, the one constant thing in life is change. Fifteen months was not a short period. Compared to the likes of Shotgun, Rhino, Big Tokey and some others with long sentences to serve, fifteen months seemed a child's play. He took in his surrounding, breathing in the city air of the place. He had about two hours left and did not want to rush from one major Camp to another.
Something as simple as walking the sidewalk could trigger lovely memories. They were of his daughter, and he enjoyed everyone he remembered. He looked for an empty bench, in front of the Devon tower. The area was so beautiful. There was a huge waterfall, and he found a bench to sit on. He looked at him as he sat and daydreamed. Stone got up and strolled around a new Koi pond. The fish where brilliant colors, gold, orange, Black, and White. He watched the different people walk by most in a big hurry to get where they were going. Stone took it all in.