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Leisure Time

Interview with Tim, Bob, Peter, Iris, Pat, Elsie, Kathleen, George and Amber

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Tim: Actually not a thing. We were in a room with benches and a couple of toilet seats and a clock. There was nothing else to do but watch the seconds tick by.
Bob: a small telivision and decks of cards or dominoes a small changing stack of books.
Peter: there were no facilities there. there probably was, i just didnt know or see anything about that.the only thing you can pass time is talking,watch tv,eat,sleep,walk around, talk to a guard, talk to inmates, write something with a pencil and paper, read a book, and thats about it. there wasnt really much to do.
Iris: You could stay in and watch tv or play board games with some of the other inmates. Reading books was a big part if my day aldo writing was another way to pass the time by. Going outside and socializing with others was nice if there was no drama going on.
Pat: books books and more books. there were a few games there also but some people wont let others play them. Some people draw. Some people write letters to loved ones. playing cards can be bought from the commissary store so people play cards. there is also a TV in each module which is nice.
Elsie: Very little and it could be withdrawn in a heartbeat. Unless you were an inmate worker, there was no equipment. There was a little yard where we paced back and forth relentlessly but we didn't have proper shoes to engage in any routine walking that would have been beneficial. There were some computer-related classes but strangely inferior. I read that the facility was going to have college classes but when I inquired, I was told that that was erroneous.
Kathleen: schooling. there was a library and a law library ged classe and ged testing paid for by facility. employment for life. graphic arts. coda. na. aa. office occupations. anger management. parenting, food handlers card, church. trustee. sewing. kitchen. landscaping. painting. launmdry.trustee's with clearance and who had a bathing suit were allowed to swim in a pool(i was not fimaliar personally) trustees also had a pool table, nintendo wii. large flat screen televisions, basketball and tennis courts plus the freedom to walk the grounds generally unsupervised
George: There was a yard where we could play basketball, my cellmates had a work out routine that we performed every day. There were books and newspapers available for us to read to stay current on news. We were also allowed to watch tv, and if we had the supplies, we were able to write letters to family and friends.We also could get jobs such as helping in the kitchen.
Amber: IF YOU WERE A TRUSTEE YOU HAD A JOB AND WOULD WORK AT VARIOUS PLACES IN THE FACILITY. THEY ALSO HAD SCHOOL AND YOU COULD ENROLL IN COMPUTER SCHOOL OR GET YOUR GED. YOU COULD GO TO NA OR AA ,CHURCH SERVICES ,OR PARENTINGRY. YOU COULD ALSO ASK TO GO TO THE LAW LIBRA

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Tim: There was no entertainment. So the competition was not fierce. I wish I had entertainment, but then that probably would have meant that I was in another part of the jail, spending much more time there. I'll gladly pass the one night watching the clock tick by, than spending a week with some tv and cards.
Bob: the tv is high up on the wall and is controlled by the deputies. you can buy cards through commissary. Not many people in jail are what you would call literary connoiseurs. But if your refering to the level of play. Yes the best card players are found in jail...think about it.
Peter: all there was was a tv. there wasnt really any competition. i think there were some books that you can read. but that was about it. i guess you had to get a book right away before anyone else gets it. and there was also paper and pencils to write.
Iris: If you became a trustee then you had more access to entertainment and to do things more freely. If not then you had to watch what ever they would play on the tv it there was books to read and a few board games to play if you wanted interaction.
Pat: Competition was very fierce for every game that was in the module. Either people of the same race will give it to their race before others or they will just give it to someone they like better than others. It is very hard to play someone elses game in the module.
Elsie: There was a TV that was difficult to hear and had very poor programming. Generally, people were somewhat diplomatic about getting access to it. And, Law and Order was played relentlessly though movies were brought in by staff. It was very difficult to hear because of acoustics in the room. Everything was so inferior and crude.
Kathleen: we had regular access either indoors or out from 7am to 10pm. 11pm saturdays. unless on lock down things were usually readily available. there was tv and movies were played a couple imes thruout the day. also we had books. magazines. board games. yard time. exercise machines. radio. there wasnt much competition over what was made avaliable. the ganes usually took multiple players. things were funner with a crowd. inmates could also order playing cards
George: We were able to watch tv, the tv was for everyone I didn't mind watching what everyone else decided to watch, I was just happy to hear to the background noise the tv provided. We watched movies and the news most of the time. I didn't mind because I stayed up to date with the outiside world.
Amber: IF YOU WANNA CALL NA AND AA CLASSES AND CHURCH ENTERTAINMENT THEN YES THE COMPETITION WAS VERY FIERCE. THEY WOULD ONLY ALLOW SO MANY GIRLS FROM EACH UNIT TO ATTEND CHURCH AND YOU HAD TO HAVE PRIOR APPROVAL ATTEND CLASSES. THE WAITING LIST WERE VERY LONG SOMETIMES YOU NEVER GOT CALLED.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Tim: The good thing was that I didn't need to. I was only there a night, but I guess that if I had wanted to, it wouldn't have been that hard to do sit-ups, push-ups, jog or jumping jacks. There was enough space.
Bob: No my car had mandatory daily workouts.
Peter: ya kinda. there were no weights or excecise equipment. i just walked around alot for excercise.that was about it. ya.
Iris: Yes with the food being so starchy and no real activities I had gained a little bit of weight .
Pat: In the module that I was in the Representative of each race made it mandatory for everyone under 45 to do a daily workout so no it was not hard. It was expected and there was punishment for those who chose not to.
Elsie: OMG, are you kidding?? Of course! No shoes to wear to walk any amount in, horrible unhealthy food which did NOT include salad and outside of occasional chicken, no meat or real cheese.
Kathleen: yea. not much room to walk. most time was spent sleeping/in bed. or at chow. highlight of some days were the meals.
George: Staying in shape was not very hard for me while in jail because my group had a very strict routine that we had to follow if we didn't want to cause problems.
Amber: THE FOOD THEY PROVIDED WAS VERY STARCHY AND WITHOUT ANY FITNESS EQUIPMENT YOU BASICALLY LAYED AROUND ALL DAY GETTING FAT

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?
Tim: Just the once when I was released. Since I was there only one night, it wasn't really necessary for me to take breaks outside, although that would have been kind of nice to get some fresh air. I'll bet that more people would appreciate that.
Bob: once a week for about an hour if the guards arnt being jerks.
Peter: we never got a chance to go outside. you can walk around, probably do some excersise in your cell. i guess you have to think of other ways.
Iris: We were allowed to go out to the patio for a long portion of the day unless we got in to any trouble. Walking was all the exercise offered
Pat: They offered us to go out at least once a week. I chose to stay in the cell and do push ups, run in place, back arms, sit ups, crunches, etc.
Elsie: In the dorms, nearly daily though there were periods when the yard was closed throughout the day and when the sun went down, they were absolutely closed. If in the higher security housing, once or twice a week, if at all.
Kathleen: everyday in the morning from 7am till 10:30ish. then from 1pm to 3:30 and from 4:30 till 6pm i think... walking back and fourth. or exercise machines in each dorm,.
George: We were able to go outside once a day, we would go over our exercise routines and play basketball. We did normal stretches and exercise such as push ups, and cherry pickers.
Amber: IN MOST HOUSING UNITS YOU WERE ALLOWED TO GO OUTSIDE MOST OF THE DAY BUT THE YARD WAS VERY LITTLE AND THE ONLY THING YOU COULD DO WOULD BE TO WALK IN CIRCLES.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Tim: I'm not sure if they offered church services. I'm not a religious person, so I didn't seek out these services. But I'm sure they were available if someone needed a pastor. A lot of people were so out of it, that they barely seemed to know where they were let alone what they needed.
Bob: Yes but I did not attend.
Peter: i wouldnt know. they probably do. i didnt see any church type services there. i guess inmates do that on there own.
Iris: They did offer church twice a week if you wanted togo to bible service or things if that sort .
Pat: They did offer church for English and Spanish speakers. I did not attend these services. I am not sure when they were help.
Elsie: Yes they did but I never went as I was Jewish and there were no services for Jews. I heard that the services were often foolish and poorly put together. Volunteers.
Kathleen: on saturday and sunday church was offered in english and spanish. also there was a prayor wagon which hands our bibles and
George: They did offer church service but I don't know much about it because I was never really interested in going.
Amber: THEY DID OFFER CHURCH SERVICES ON SUNDAY BUT ONLY A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GIRLS WERE ABLE TO GO. THEY ALSO HAD BIBLE STUDIES A 1 OR 2 TIMES A WEEK.

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