If you know how to cook, you can quit reading here – unless you’re having a bad day and just need a laugh. If you don’t know how to cook, read on, let a convict teach you a thing or two. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. You cook, you eat; you don’t … Continue reading Convict Cuisine – Cooking In Prison
The following story is completely true. The names haven’t been changed, because in this day of fake news and alternative facts, there are no longer any innocent… I’ve been incarcerated for 8847 days. That being said, I’ve seen a lot of things that I’ve thought stood out in my journey. This is just one of … Continue reading Mongo
I’m not a convict. Let’s get that straight first. I’ve been incarcerated for almost 25 years. I have some convict ways, but I lean toward keeping myself safe and others that I have a feeling share the same values that I’ve clung to desperately… I will not tell on someone if they are doing something … Continue reading Knowing Eli
I never thought much about old people growing up. I mean, I never really noticed the daily things that go into being elderly. I used to hear my grandfather or my grandmother talk about their rheumatism or arthritis or the famous ‘creaking old bones’ or how their knees hurt before it rains, but when you’re … Continue reading The World According To AARP
Whether turning pages in a book or writing one – words help us, at least temporarily, escape some dark places. Those breaks can be invaluable, sometimes meaning the difference between giving up and carrying on, putting one foot in front of the other. That is the spark that started WITS, but writing is not just … Continue reading THE LIBRARY
I arrived at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institute in May, 2010, and after the intake sergeant assigned me a housing unit and handed me a bedroll, I was directed to my new block. A correctional officer greeted me, “You’re in cell 51, top tier, top bunk,” he said, pointing in the direction. I followed his … Continue reading Oh
I was in the dayroom that day, taking up a tiny bit of necessary space when Moose walked by. It was medication call, and he walked with a pressing pace, a man on a mission. He had slimmed down a pound or ten, and his friendly countenance was gone. I must’ve commented on his shrinking … Continue reading The Down Under: A Survivor’s Tale
I come from a fractured blacktopscattered with butts, blunt guts and brokenbutterfly jars.I come from broke and broken familieswhere broken window theories clip wings early.I come from No Child Left Behind and Just Say “No”to three-for-tens and five-for-twenties,ten-ten skinnys and one-twenty-five by fives.I come from penny candies and two-for-a-dollar wings,fifty-cent hugs and dollar dutches –blocks … Continue reading Where I Come From
If you are innocent of a crime and are offered three years in prison to say that you are guilty – what do you do? In this country, you better think long and hard about the answer. Three years in a prison and a criminal record – or your life. It’s ‘the system’. If you … Continue reading Refusing To Say You Are Guilty Can Cost Your Life
