Things I Miss, Recycling and How It Used To Be

Today was a great day!  Very cold for Florida.  I love the cold tho; it reminds me of home (west coast).  Yes, I am a west coast girl.  I have to argue that there is no comparison between the west and the east coast.  West coast is by far a totally different world!  The west coast people recycle-keep the earth healthy and green.  They are environmentally conscious and much more open and liberal.  There are mountains, rivers, fresh water lakes, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, mountain biking, dune buggies, camping etc.  It is so beautiful and has a million things to do.  You can actually grow a vegetable garden in your backyard.  Boy, do I miss the smell of real dirt, of the forest, moss and blossoms-being in the woods.  Sorry east coast, no offense, but the beach and sun with no changing seasons gets old. 

And hardly anyone recycles here.  I tried to get recycling started in the prison-what a joke.  They say they do recycle-pallets and metal.  Where?  What pallets and what metal?  My mom researched it for me and called waste management and they said it was up to the prison.  I have been trying to get paper, plastic and aluminum recycling here but no one cares.  We have 6 canteens with a revenue of approximately 40,000 a week and everything we buy is cans, plastic and paper.  It all goes in the trash.  The prison creates a lot of trash.  We could implement a recycling program like other prisons have and use the money for recreational supplies and rehab.  I don't understand why this prison won't do that.  Actually, I don't understand anything DOC does.

I saw this picture of a girl here 30 years ago.  She has been here since she was 18 .  She recently shared pictures of her over the years and I started crying.  I did not recognize the young girl as the woman she is today-for many reasons.  Prison back then let women wear dresses and short heels.  Her hair was done with a curling iron and she was standing next to a real Christmas tree.  She looked so bright.  As the pictures went on you could see the change-in her and in the prison.  DOC has taken everything away.  They used to have blow dryers, curling irons, families could send real hygiene.  They had real food on the canteen like fruit, juices and real meat.  They had crafts like knitting, crocheting and art classes.  They had movies and meditation classes and they had mentors from the outside that were allowed to come to the prison and mentor the inmates.  They had softball teams and tournaments.  They had kind of a real life.  Now we are lucky if we get to go outside for a couple hours a day and some days not at all.  They took away everything that might help a person feel good and get a little pleasure out of life.  How is that right?  How is that Christian?  Is that what Jesus would do or Buddha?