Originally posted by serrollt
View Post
There is a chapter in the works on Covid for the story.
Stay tuned!
Chapter 28 Three Down “Grampa!” Yelled the masked-up guard. A piercing rattle of "Bang-bang-bang-bang" on the iron metal bars of my cell with a baton, jarring me awake in the early morning as I was sleeping in my lower bunk. Mark had left for work at his day shift 2 hours earlier. “Snowflake!” I jumped up quickly still in the grogginess of half-sleep, put on my mask and approached the bars and took it. We were still on Covid lock-down but inmates were allowed to go to work and see Doctors. Masks were mandated to be worn at all times when we left our cells for these activities. The Snowflake read: “Appointment, Dr. Ganel. March 1, 2021 2 PM. It suddenly dawned on me. This day was the three year anniversary of my banning and subsequent life sentence. Every year, to the day, there is an annual psychological evaluation and general interview of inmates. The next day came: March 1, 2021. It had been 3 years since my banishment. Strangely, perhaps not so, I hadn't kept track of dates nor my coming "anniversary." It didn't matter anymore. I was ensconced in my life on the "inside." At 2 PM, I Again did the walk down the corridor, again the wait in the chair outside Dr. Ganel’s office and again, after about 10 minutes of waiting the door opened. Everything....is repetitive here. Everything. “Grampa,” said an unfamiliar male voice. I was a little surprised, as I turned my head up and back from my seated position. “Where is Ganel?” I instantly thought. The men noticed my perplexed look and explained immediately. “Oh, Dr. Ganel is here. I’m just an assistant and will do some administrative processing before your meeting with her.” “OK,” I replied, relaxing my shoulders with a sense of relief. “Please come in and follow me.” We walked down a hallway to a small spartan office at the end of the hall to the left. It was even smaller than my 6 X 9 cell. “Please have a seat.” I did. My name is Michael Spinelli. I’m the new Deputy Assistant Coordinator of Inmate Affairs.” He reached out his hand. I shook it. Another job created here in the prison? For what? I’d been noticing this since I arrived. All these bureaucratic titles. “I’m just confirming that you’re here for your scheduled appointment with Dr. Ganel and I’ll enter in the details on my computer. Give me your inmate number and......[fade out]. He had a stiff white shirt that looked like it'd just been taken out of the box and a stiff card-board-like tie to boot. His dark navy blue trousers looked like one of the brands from Wal-Mart. He looked about 23. Probably a recent Uni grad that could be taken for a kid in high school. 3 minutes later this Mr. Spinelli led me back up the hallway and sat me in front of Ganel’s door. He then left for his closet of an office. The point of this? I shook my head inside my mind. Then Ganel’s door opened and she greeted me with her radiant bright smile. She had the purest white teeth. “Hey, Grampa!” “Hi, Dr. Ganel!” We always have had a solid connection. "This way...." She took her seat behind her desk as I did in front of it. "You're looking good," she said. "Well, I try." "As you know, you're here for your annual review." I nodded. She had my records and annual mug shot photos in front of her. "Dr. Ganell, who's that....uhm....guy.....that I first saw?" Ganell rolled her eyes, "He's the new Deputy Assistant for Inmate Affairs." "Uhm....what does he actually do?" "Well.....between you and me....nothing really.....Now, don't tell anyone, but he's.....the Warden's nephew." I understood. "So....let's get started: In general, how are things with you? It's been 3 years since you came here. Yeah, it was March 1, 2018 when I was banned and sentenced to the Dog House until I get 100 green repo points....We all know that isn't going to happen....but things are good. Seriously....I'm doing well...." "Would you like to expand on that?" "Well, I'm...just living. I've got a good cellie---" "You're still sharing a cell with Mark Rizzo?" "Yes." "And.....?" "We get along well. He's helped me a lot. I've made friends from his circle. I'm doing things to keep me busy....still working at the license plate factory here....and....I'm in a band too." "Oh, yes? A band? "Yeah, I play the Bongo Drums and do some singing as well with 3 other guys. We'll called the 'Croaking Frogs.'" "That's an interesting name," Ganell said with a smile. So....I'd like to ask you a question about your.....sentence....and how your dealing with the your future prospects....." "Sure, you can ask anything you want." "Do you ever think about the length of your sentence?" "Honestly, no. I've come to accept it. I cannot change the way things are in this respect - but I have total control over my mind and attitude." "Grampa, that's a very healthy way to approach things." I nodded. Dr. Ganell, continued: And, another question: if you could post again on that channel, would you?" "I don't know. I've never thought about it. I haven't heard from anyone from that channel. I'm busy doing other things these days. I rarely post anywhere. I've been getting into meditation and I'm trying to de-calcify my Pineal Gland." "I see." "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" No, I think we've covered everything, Dr. Ganell." "Okay, then. See you next time." I stood up, "Good to see you Dr. Ganell. See you." "Bye." I walked out feeling like I had a diamond in my pocket. |
Comment