Let’s talk about one of my favorite humans and explore his experiences thus far!!
For a short period of time, Travis was moved upstairs. You may recall, Travis started out in an open dorm type housing unit that had an open room holding up to 60 occupants. Prior to a planned shakedown that housing unit was closed and everyone was moved into four man cells. This led to Travis being moved upstairs, and upstairs was a whole different environment.
Different areas in a prison tend to house different types of prisoners. Upstairs was a much rowdier crew. Travis calls from a phone booth which is enclosed. On a few occasions the inmates were so loud in the background we could not even hear one another on the call. I could sense the stress he felt in this environment, which was completely foreign from anything he had ever lived in prior. I could hear the tension and dissatisfaction in his voice, and he had an increase sense of self protection compared to before.
What I didn’t realize was the influence other inmates could have over the living arrangements. I had expected cells and bunks to be assigned, but the process seems more fluid and influential at FMC. It was a few of the inmates he had connected with when living downstairs in the open housing unit who spoke to the staff about moving Travis off second floor. The population up there have longer rap sheets and display more behaviors of criminality even inside a facility.
These allied inmates would check in on Travis as they would pass by one another outside or at the rec during their movement period. (Being able to move inside the facility to controlled much like a school bell used at high schools.) They would ensure he was safe and encouraged him that they were doing what they could to make moves on his behalf.
About two weeks later he was moved into a cell on first floor. While his preference is to live in the open dorm style unit, it does not sound like that unit will used for the remainder of his stay. He has learned to share a “closet” with three other grown men. Although I think that has been the easy part. What he really liked about the dorm style unit was the number of windows it had offering a greater sense of openness and less confinement.
The dog program! As you know, I love animals so I think one of the coolest things the prison offers in programming is the dog training program. They bring pups to live with assigned inmates for six months. This teaches the inmates responsibility, discipline, and many lessons about companionship and love. Travis applied to be one of the handlers for the dogs in March if I remember correctly.
Travis interviewed to be a handler and at the end of the interview he asked them to consider their selections based upon who would get the most out of the program. One of the incentives of the dog program is that you share your cell with a dog and only one other person. This was appealing to him, plus he loves dogs. But he knows discipline, companionship, connection, love, routine, responsibility, and the principles the program teaches. So he understood the program could be far more beneficial to others than it would be him, despite the fact he’d like to participate.
His ability to see what serves the whole, to be selfless in an environment where the majority are very focused on survival of self, and his generosity continues to leave me in awe. While he was not selected to be one of the handlers, he was placed first on the list for alternates.
Almost always someone quits or breaks the rules around training the animals (such as feeding them peanut butter) and has the dog removed from their care so they keep a few alternates involved in the program to be able to step in at any time. Being an alternate allows Travis to be involved in the weekly training meetings and to take the dogs out for walks if he’d like. A couple weeks ago, on one of the observers was notified they would receive “immediate release”. Travis believes he will be first in line to take this position, but it’s uncertain how immediate “immediate release” is as the inmate is still incarcerated.
Mail seems to have stopped being sent to me from Travis. Travis still receives my letters, and everyone else Travis is writing receives their letters, but letters he writes to me don’t arrive. We were never notified of a mail restriction so perhaps multiple letters have simply been lost in mail, or perhaps it’s something else.
On April 19th, the day before my grandfather passed, an unannounced shakedown was conducted. Travis was not notified of any items being taken, but realized several days later a letter with legal information I made mailed him had gone missing. Coincidentally the last letter I received from Travis was written on April 15th prior to the shakedown. He’s mailed at least two letters since the passing of my grandfather and six weeks later they still have not arrived. While I thought it was my right to communicate with my spouse, I have adjusted my perspective to the fact it’s a privilege so every call I receive I am deeply grateful to have.
Poop patrol is a necessity! If you have a weak stomach you may not want to read this section of the update. It’s gross. You’ve been fairly warned.
Travis has been relying largely on the commissary for his food. Packets of tuna, rice, and crackers have been his main staples. There are limits on how many of each food items are able to be purchased each week. For instance, he can only purchase 10 packets of tuna every Tuesday; not enough to have tuna for every meal. Additionally, there is a total spending limit in the commissary each month.
This means each inmate is left to budget and strategize their purchases so they do not go over the set limits of items and/or money each week and month. This is going to have greater impact than it has to date, and I’ll come back to this point in a bit to explain why.
The week after my grandpa passed away Travis called on a routine Friday evening. As you can tell, it left an imprint as I remember exactly where I was sitting, on my parents’ couch, when the phone rang. Travis shared that one of the inmates had defecated on a food tray and then proceeded to place the food tray and all of its contents into the dishwashing machine. Yes, you’re reading that correctly…someone pooped in the kitchen or chow hall and disposed of the waste in the dishwasher rather than the toilet.
Your first question might be, how could this happen? I don’t have an actual answer to that, but I can share my experience with the kitchen from the prison facility I worked in which may or may not be the same for FMC. The kitchen by and large is ran by inmates. Even the head chef position is held by an inmate which means they have to walk the fine line of adhering to the inmate culture and answer to staff. The facility I worked in had two kitchen employees. One of them almost exclusively ran the back end of the kitchen, meaning they were responsible for all of the administrative aspects of ordering food, ordering supplies, planning the meals, etc.
The other staff member was responsible for overseeing the activities in the kitchen. They had to ensure all of the utensils were in their proper place and returned after each meal cooked, keep eyes on ingredients to prevent theft from the kitchen (food is a great bartering item in prison AND certain spices were desirable to induce a “high” for inmates), access ingredients and/or utensils which would be kept under lock and key as needed, observe the conduct of the inmates, and so on.
Because of shift work, both staff members were not always present at the same time or on the same days. These periods of time would mean one staff member would be responsible for overseeing the activities in the kitchen including the conduct of the inmates as well as monitor supplies, etc. The size of a kitchen required to cook enough food to feed a population of over 600 inmates makes it impossible to keep an eye on everything and everyone all at once. This is my best guess as to how this could have occurred.
Prior to this incident Travis ate in the chow hall minimally as most of the meals weren’t appealing. Prison food is called slop for a reason. After the defecating incident Travis said he would no longer be eating in chow hall at all. How could you trust the food? Or the cleanliness and sanitation? It’s just one of the many, many things we take for granted. And that hair that might have come out in the last dish you ordered at a restaurant? That’s nothing compared to this. Travis’s incarceration is one of constant perspective.
So now Travis wants to eat all of his meals through foods he purchases at commissary, but the limit of what he can spend there has decreased. And just as we are experiencing with inflation, the prices of the items have also been increasing. He is able to purchase less items for more money, and whether he will be able to purchase all of his meals there is a pretty big wild card. Especially when the need arises to purchase shampoo, shoes, or other personal care items.
Our faith is resolute and our focus is calibrated: each day that passes is one day closer to fulfillment, family, and freedom!
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Peace & Love,
Janessa