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Leisure Time

Interview with Hugh, Cameron, Sarah, Roy and Janicki

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Hugh: Watch TV, play cards, board games like monopoly, gym once or twice a week (inside). The basketball rim is 20 ft up so its kind of hard to play basketball
Cameron: We had cards and chess. Once a week we got to go to the gym. There were a few weights and a few video games. I just used the time to walk in much larger circles than were available in the cell block. They weights were always appropriated by the young muscular guys. The line for the video games went to the fastest. I did see a lot of problems with people trying to force their way ahead in both lines.
Sarah: They have a TV on each rock. They are supposed to allow you access to a gym 3 times a week. In my experience this was sporadic. I may had a chance to go to gym 10x in 7 months (about an hour each). You can buy puzzle books from commissary. You can buy paper, pencils and stamps from commissary and write letter. I when to law library once in 7 months for about an hour. Sometimes there are books floating around. You can buy cards from commissary and play cards. This was a favorite pastime with many inmates. I had people send me books but it is hard to read in a noisy cold environment. It is extremely boring with very little to do. Therefore, inmates would make their own entertainment, which usually lead to fights and bad behavior. I walked around the rock and tried cleaning a filthy environment to keep occupied.
Roy: push ups,cards,reading books,not much else to do on quarantine floor 14,some people would shove a sock in the sink drain and let it fill with cold water so they could savemilks and juices in it for later,also we cleaned together,everyone maintaining a clean living area kept the older dudes happy,it was expected that everyone chipped in
: There were no facilities offered. We had a television and books. We were occasionally allowed to go to the law library, we never had rec, never went outside, no church, nothing. We had books and cards. A typical day was usually spent playing cards, fighting, reading, complaining, braiding hair... nothing was offered, we had to entertain ourselves.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Hugh: Some floors have a schedule for who gets to choose the channel at a particular time, and sometimes it is just based on what the majority wants to watch. On Sunday its always sports.
Cameron: There were always cards and chess available. The problem was finding a decent chess player. When there are only seven others to choose from you can sometimes end up with no one who knows how to play the game. I am not fond of card games, but with very few options for diversion I did play quite often. There were very few books in the jail. I would think that reading material should be a priority. Maybe they do not think most prisoners can read.
Sarah: The only regular entertainment was the TV. They would play movies at least once a day. However, hard to watch in a noisy environment. There are usually books floating around. You can buy cards from commissary. That it is it. It is extremely boring. So usually fun is made but it is probably best to stay away from that type of fun.
Roy: the homies basically run the tvs and its definitely fierce,worst part is,stereotypically speaking you would think most men watch sports....not in jail,holy hell,they watch the dumbest most annoying shit,they were watching any dramas they could find and just the most ridicilous crap on tv,talk shows and purely ignorant brain numbing non sense which i had zero interest in
: Again, we had nothing to entertain us. There was no competition for entertainment. The tv was useless because you either couldn't see it, hear it or it wasn't even working. Whoever had a deck of cards determined who would play and what to play. Books were always shared. We also wrote letters.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Hugh: No, not really. I did a lot of calisthenics, push ups. The worst part was the food. It was horrible. It was provided by Airmark.
Cameron: I was not in shape when I went in. I was down to 135 lbs. What I really needed was a healthier diet. That sure was not going to happen.
Sarah: NO. I actually lost weight. I would walk around the rock all day to keep occupied. I fasted, and you only have the food in front of you to eat, no snacking (unless you bought junk food off commissary). However, if eat off commissary and sleep all day, which many people did you could have a hard time staying in shape. Further, the only drink you got was juice flavored sugar water, grape, punch or lemon. It is horrible. I only drank water out of the faucet (not the best but only option). In am you did get 1 pint of 2% milk. However, When I went to doctor, I asked for a diabetic diet. So I got a second 2% milk in the evening with fruit and a sandwich. You really have to take nutrition in your own hands when there. Don't drink the sugar water. Use the doctor to your advantage. I also got an order for vitamin C from the doctor. Most of what they offer on commissary is junk food, Candy, potato chips, etc. I did buy nuts sometimes but there is few nutritional items on commissary. If you eat only off commissary you will have a hard time staying in shape.
Roy: no,being in jail makes you reflect on your mistakes and leaves you with nothing but time,speaking from my time there and about people i have known coming from jail.we played cards and shit for pushups,if you lsoe a hand or a game you do push ups or sit ups,easy to stay in shape getting 3 meals a day of decently healthy food,compared to eating fast food constantly .for the most part everyone ihave ever known in jail,they were twice as big muscle wise whent hey got out
: I gained about 20 pounds in jail. You are fed nothing but carbs and you have nothing to do to help you stay on shape.

JM: How often did you get to go outside? What did you do outside if you were allowed to? If you were not allowed to go outside what could you do for exercise?
Hugh: Just when I went to court.
Cameron: The only time I went outside was when I traveled back and forth between WCJ and Oakland Co. Jail. I walked in small circles. I could have done push-ups and sit- ups, but I did not.
Sarah: I went outside once, if you can call it outside. They take take to the top floor. It has an open roof, high walls and a fence. I went there once in Aug or Sept. Then the winter came they never took you up there for recreation they would take you to an indoor gym. However, even indoor recreation was very limited.
Roy: there isnt any outside at wayne county,i didnt see the light of day in my two weeks there and rode home like a dog with my head hanging out the window or the joker from the dark knight
: I never went outside, rec was never offered to us, we did nothing for exercise. Some of the girls would walk around in figure 8's over and over, but no one did anything to keep in shape.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Hugh: Yes, they have lots of church services. Its normally a volunteer group that comes in, and they just announce it and you can go and listen to them preach. A lot of times they will give you pamphlets. They also have a law library, so if you're fighting your case you can research there. They have a paralegal and a legal assistant that will help you get the information you need. You can go to the law library 2-3 times per week.
Cameron: I think there may have been some sort of service. It has been a while and I would not want to guarantee something that I am not positive about being true.
Sarah: They did on Sunday morning. But they only allowed a limited number to go. And if you did not race to get in line you had to stay back. So everyone would get in line even if they had no interest in church just to get out of the rock. So sometimes you could not go. They did have a good catholic priest and ladies come for services. They were great. I am catholic. It was the best thing but I could not go every week. They did have other christian services that I did not go to.
Roy: no it didnt,some of the inmated would hold prayer sermons and such,where we would all hold hands and gather round and pray for one of us that may or may not be getting out th e next day,it was sort of a farewell to a lost brother and new friend,like i said earlier this usually takes place with the older demographic
: I went to church once. It was a Baptist service and it was ridiculous. Church service was geared towards the majority, so the service was almost foreign to me.

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