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Leisure Time

Interview with Lola, Eve, Pat, Peter, Al, Trevor and Camille

JM: What types of facilities were available to help pass the time?
Lola: TV, sometimes we were allowed to go outside, but it was cold, and no jackets.
Eve: We would go outside once a day, either in the morning or afternoon. There was church, library, law library, arts and crafts, and lots of other classes or programs.
Pat: they had all kinds of classes
Peter: An indoor gym room was available that was basical a single hooped basketball court. if you were not the athletic type and didnt play, you still had the option of going and talking with other inmates to pass time by walking around the gym "doing laps" as it was called
Al: types of facilities were gym where they had basketball and ping pong. they also had cards and also they had chess. they also had library and aa meetings at night. there was also a yard available to go out to on certain days of the week. there were no weights
Trevor: 1 hour of rec a day if we got that and law library 2 times a week. but it was only if the c.o.s felt like it. most of the time you are stuck in your pod either working out or reading a book or playing cards. we had tv but you could never hear it.
Camille: Let me take this moment to state that the library at this facility was as old as the theologian Martin Luther. Can an inmate get a book written after 2000? PLEASE! Otherwise, if you needed a GED, you could take a class. Or, you could knit once a week or attend a 12-step meeting or go to church. That was about it. Oh, and you could visit the prehistoric library.

JM: Did you have regular access to the entertainment or was competition fierce? Give details.
Lola: The TV was on with whatever other inmates wanted to watch.
Eve: Not that I know of.
Pat: sometimes only for the one class of arts
Peter: Competition was fierce. Mostly the TV was run by those that were "into sports" as they "gambled" commissary items in place of money, leading to the sporting events to always be on so they could be monitored for the reasons on who won what...if you didnt care for sports then it was the limited choices of books to read or play cards ( purchased off commissary)
Al: yes we had regular acess to entertainment,it was basically 7 in the morning till 11 at night unless breakfast a lunch or a dinner was being served. privaleges were taken away if people could not behave or mistreated the eqipment that was provided by the jail. sometimes competition was tough
Trevor: well their were certain people in the pod I noticed that kind of ran the tv. they changed it when they felt like it and watched the same things everyday. and they would always turn the volume way up then have everyone in the pod screaming over the tv making the tv impossible to hear anyway.
Camille: The television is for idiots. That said, all the idiots that wanted to watch it were in fierce competition for the tv's attention. Popular shows were viewed on one side of the gym, movies on the other. Some days, the popular shows conflicted with another group's popular show, so the showdown was verbal and, in my opinion, dumb.

JM: Did you have a hard time staying in shape while in jail?
Lola: No, I actually lost weight because the food was pretty horrible, I went down 4 pants sizes.
Eve: No.
Pat: no
Peter: Staying in shape is up to the inmate. The ability to do sit ups push ups and other body weight exercises was also a way to "pass time" and the meals were designed for the health three meals a day
Al: there were no weights but people would fill bags of water up which was not allowed. you could also jog around the gym
Trevor: yes because unless you get commissary food you starve. the meals they provide are very small and only starch products. all 3 meals is like one meal for me at home. so when u work out you get even hungrier.
Camille: I had a hard time coping in jail. I hated it. I slept my time away. I did not exercise because I didn't have medical attention for my feet nor did I have the proper inserts for my shoes. So, the answer is yes.

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?
Lola: Not often at all.
Eve: Every day.
Pat: every day if it wasnt raining or too cold
Peter: The "outside" was going to the gym stated above and if the weather permitted rolling walls like a small garage door were opened to reaveal a chain link style fence screen to allow "fresh air in"
Al: we went outside about 3 times a week unless it was raining or if it was too hot out, the gym was always available to go to
Trevor: we were not slowed outside because of the snow but we had inside rec were we played volleyball or basketball or just walk around the gym.
Camille: Women were allowed outside twice a day, I think. But, at least once a day. If you were allowed outside in the large area, you could play basketball or walk around the perimeter of the court. Or, sit on the grass and talk. If you went outside in the evening, it was a smaller area and the only exercise available was walking. If you did not go outside, you could walk around in the gym if you desired.

JM: Did the jail offer church services? If so, what were they like and when were they held?
Lola: Sundays a church group came in.
Eve: Yes, once a week for one hour and they were really good.
Pat: yes they had a few religons and they were usally held at nightdifferent days for different blocks
Peter: They offered numerous religious services for Catholic, Christian and the such. They were offered at least twice a week for each religion
Al: yes church was available 1 time a week and we also held bible study on our own time through the week
Trevor: they did it if people came in to host it. and its not offered you have to know about it and request it. they don't tell you nothing.
Camille: Yes, you were allowed access to worship services. Depending on which church came into the facility, you would experience a different type of service from your seat. So, we sat, the church people talked. If they sang, we sang. It lasted about an hour.

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