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Leisure Time

Interview with Victor and Mike

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Victor: There was a library available for a short trip once per week, usually on sunday. There was an hour of "rec," usually in the morning, in which you had access to shitty gym equipment and a small court with high walls where the basketball hoops were taken out of. You could go to Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or some kind of religious service, which was usually one night per week for each. I did not use any of these services, except occasionally rec.
Mike: There was a gym and there was a yard. We were able to go to the gym once a week and the yard something like three times a week, depending on the weather. The gym was a decent facility. It was possible to get a pretty good workout. The yard was a small area about the size of a grammar school basketball court with high walls made of cinder block, quite slippery. Impossible to climb. It also had razor wire at the top.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Victor: I eventually established dominance on one television, of which I had certain programs that I would watch at certain times. The TV is a source of great conflict, but after you learn whom everyone is and what kind of prison time they are looking at or what level of violence they are capable of, you learn how to navigate this. I liked watching International News on CNN after lunch, Lou Dobbs (Back when he was on CNN) after dinner, and UFC and other random shows. I have seen fights over the TV. I have seen someone pour a cup of coffee in the top of a TV due to an argument.
Mike: There were two TV's, one at either end of the room. At first there were regular arguments about the TV. From a personal standpoint, I could never watch exactly what I wanted. But then a compromise was reached. The one TV was designated purely for sports and the other was designated strictly for MTV and VH1. That was pretty much the way it stayed. They did show a movie on Saturday nights, chosen by one of the guards. Almost everyone watched.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Victor: It is difficult in county jail, due to a lot of people and not much equipment, but if you do strictly calisthenics then you can stay in good shape, you just have to adapt. The only problem then is how much money you have. You see, they feed you poorly and it is hard to maintain a body that requires extra protein and nutrients. If you have no one sending money in, then you need to find a hustle.
Mike: It's nearly impossible to stay in shape in county jail. There isn't enough space and the access to workout gear is limited. You could walk and do pushups inside and you could do pushups outside too in the yard.

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?
Victor: One hour per day, which was often cut short. It is a small area surrounded with high concrete walls and razor wire on top. You can only see the sky. If you couldn't get your hour of recreation, which was often the case because a lot of times I recall being on lock down for 3 days straight due to whatever bullshit was going on. We would have 3 people in one small cell and we made it work.
Mike: We got outside a few times a week. It was pretty hard to exercise in the yard because there were a lot of people and everyone mostly just walked in circles. No one really did very much other than that.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Victor: Yes, and I didn't go because most people who go to church only go there to meet with people on other cell blocks that they do not see regularly. And I'm not a religious man.
Mike: There were no church services offered in county jail at all. It was not until I got to state prison that i was able to attend church services. If some inmates had wanted to do their own church services we could have, but there was no interest.

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