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Leisure Time

Interview with Raymond, Brenda, Reta, Ronnie, Germz and Jimmy

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Raymond: Regular stuff like cards and a TV. No weights.
Brenda: Camp was a very good facility to do time there were no gates no bars you were in the middle of the mountains nice quiet and serene. were we offered college courses nightly church services and classes on re entry into society.
Reta: There's a TV, rec time, parenting classes, AA classes, GED classes... those sort of programs.
Ronnie: They had books, they had religous services, some dorms have TV. They also had handball, b-ball.
Germz: well there are a few different programs. there is a drug program that teaches you how to not use drugs and better your life. there is anger management wich usally people use for court, but doesnt apply it, once you start hitting your spouse you dont stop. the ged block is nice and you get educated while there.
Jimmy: There was one TV for the block and a few tattered paperbacks. Otherwise, there were absolutely no facilities. We weren't even taken outside. A lot of the inmates gambled with cards or walked in circles for hours in order to get some exercise. I found the lack of facilities to be disgustingly cruel.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Raymond: Not really. With the TV, pretty much everyone like to watch sports so we watched sports. And music shows when they came on... and Family Guy. There wasn't ever any fights.
Brenda: we had two two rooms with cable so no competition there. there were only 100 women at this camp.
Reta: Whoever wanted to sign up could go. They were available programs open to all the dorms except maximum security.
Ronnie: It's wasn't too bad. There was never any fights over stuff like that.
Germz: once a day the yard opes up . its a small cement square, where you can play hand ball or basket ball. yes it can get fierce the blacks allways want to play basket ball, and the whites and mexicans want to play hand ball the older people just sit around and play cards all day
Jimmy: As I said, there was one TV and I never saw anyone fighting over it. Inmates would swap whatever reading material was available. The main form of entertainment was swapping stories with each other about arrest, extradition, anything to pass the time. The major events were the disgusting meals served three times daily.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Raymond: No. I do a lot of cardio vascular workouts and pushups.
Brenda: no at camp you had to hike every day and stay fit and ready for fires. we would go to fires from 1 to 30 days depending on how big the fire was. we would have to do alot of physical labor use a chainsaw shovels, rakes, axes. we had to carry these thing while hiking up very steep mountains.
Reta: Not at all.. the food was so yucky you lost weight.
Ronnie: Not really because I like to exercise. If you didn't you would gain weight. I saw that happen to a bunch of guys.
Germz: no, there iis a pull up bar and a dip set and a spot to do sit ups then there are allways burpiies, its a push up exercise
Jimmy: There were absolutely no exercise facilities, so it would have been difficult, but not entirely impossible to keep fit. Walking or running on the spot was pretty much it.

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?
Raymond: Every day unless you were on lockdown. You could go out all day and during thye night for a little bit.
Brenda: Everyday, we went to projects in the community everyday. When you make it to camp you are trusted to do your duty and go home. When your picked for camp you can not have and infractions or 115s you have to have low points and you have to want to make it and behave.
Reta: Couple of times a week for an hour.
Ronnie: Once every two days for an hour.
Germz: you get to go outside every other day for three hours. i played hand ball. its a good cardiro work out when im not playig hand ball i do burpies to get intoo shape and to keep everybody away erom me
Jimmy: We were never let outside. I don't believe the jail even had an outdoor exercise yard. Walking, push ups, anything that only needed floor space was the only option.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Raymond: Yes. Depending on your religion they had a day for you. I never went though.
Brenda: yes church services were held daily for us.
Reta: Once a week in in one of the main buildings they use for visitors. They were intersting. Its a way to get out of the dorm. For me it was a way out, here's some music, here's some singing. Going there gave me what I needed: some joy.
Ronnie: Yes, they would have them on the floor in the rec room. The services were nice. They gave me some hope.
Germz: yes they offered church services. they would come once a week usually in the middle of the week . i was really starting to get intoo it . then a family member passed aeay and i lost faith and quit going
Jimmy: I was never told about church services. I believe there was a prison chaplain, but I never saw him and no one ever mentioned formal services.

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