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Leisure Time

Interview with Ivan and Bobby

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Ivan: I remember I participated in programs such as the substance abuse treatment program and anger management. We also played sports in the yard as I liked to play volleyball in the summer, and we could attend church services on the weekends and Bible studies during the week. There were also other types of services for other religions, but the prison restricted inmates to only attend one religion of each one's choice.
Bobby: GED, gym basketball when it's nice out cards tv your job to do. You can write to people .. You can use the phone .. Not much but better then looking at four walls ..lunch breakfast and dinner time too that's when All the fun happened everyday It never changed

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Ivan: I never tried to compete with the entertainment at prison as I was trying to avoid fights. There were televisions out in the yards, and I would just watch whatever they had posted on the television sets. We were allowed to have our own black and white televisions in our cells, and we had our own radios. I always used my headphones.
Bobby: Big competion all the time For all that shit. The phone was the biggest thing Hearn a lived one in the phone and being able to talk to someone outside of the jail was the biggest fight.. And the next thing was the television. Books we all shared eachother books and maginzines all the time that was a big deal.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Ivan: I used to exercise very hard when I was in jail as health and fitness were always a big part of my life. I had subscriptions to men's health and I devised some creative ways to stay in shape in my cell.
Bobby: Nope, everyday more then once a day for an hour Or two I would go and work out. Run, jumping. Jacks anything. I had to burn time some how

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?
Ivan: I could go outside twice a day if I wasn't on a punitive status, but I used to exercise in my cell by rolling my mattress up into a cilinder and wrapping it up with sheets to use as a weight for lat raises. I would put my feet on the bars and grab them with my hands in a crunched up position to use my body weight for resistance as I pulled myself towards the bars. I would do push-ups, squats, and sit-ups.
Bobby: We were allowed to go out side when it was nice out and if the unit we were in was behaving some people were singles out

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Ivan: I used to attend the Catholic Church Services at different facilities as a priest always came in to run the mass and different sacraments.
Bobby: Yes the jail did. They were held Sundays. And it was okay a lot ok inmates went. We need forgiveness

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