Lancaster

I'm now here at Lancaster prison. The mail system is horrible. Mail can take over a month to reach me. I know my mail sits in the mail room and has been there for weeks. There are no lockdowns here, but also not many jobs. There's a lot of yard time and some programs that I may check out but I don't have a teaching job yet, nor any offer to teach. A couple of fellow prisoners, native brothers, said I should start a flute class as well as a writing class. I sit out on the yard playing my flute. Here I must play in public because, unlike the art room at New Folsom where people could hear me but not see me, here's no such secluded place. For the most people are awed and amazed to see my flutes and hear me play. The food is a tiny bit better than in New Folsom. I miss my gosling families and the art room.

I see ravens from a distance, some sparrows, starlings and of course pigeons and cotton tail rabbits now and then. No real nature theatre out the cell window like before. The sun has been really generous, my skin is even darker now.

I now have a column in POPS (Pain Of the Prison System) called a Spoon-ful of Wisdom. Having no class to teach I'll see what each moment and day will bring and I keep playing my flute.

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I was advising another prisoner who said he wants his GED and was having problems with his essay writing. I suggested him to get books particularly on writing essays, which he did and seemed inspired for a moment. Yet not self motivated which is the key. So I tried to inspire him by saying; “look I'm writing an essay.” For an excuse he says; “I'm not competing with you”, which was true and I told him; “you're only competing with yourself to do better.”

For me competition is making myself better moment by moment, growing and pondering in ways to enlighten myself in positive ways. Always competing with myself each day which hopefully gives me something new to ponder... I compete with myself in a non materialistic sense, I strive to let go and be a deeper flute player each day.