One More Stupid Decision

This morning as I silently ate my Ralston cereal at breakfast I overheard a conversation between two other men at the table. One man was lamenting to the other that he had accumulated a poker table debt of over one hundred dollars, but he swore he was done gambling. After listening for a few minutes the 'friend' pulled a better ticket (called a 'skin' in prison) out of his pocket and said, "Here, if you play a dollar on this, it pays eight-to-one on a four pick and fifteen-to-one on a five pick. If you win it could help you out of the jamb you're in."

I nearly choked on my food, and this time it wasn't because of the taste. This sort of illogical thinking is rampant in prison, and I dare say, it's what led many of us to prison in the first place. One more drug deal, one more boost, one more stupid decision to make up for another.

For sure, prisoners don't hold a monopoly on stupid decisions, and not all stupid decisions lead to prison. Some lead to a life in politics, but I digress...

The unfortunate result of stupid decisions is that rarely must the decision-maker bear the consequences alone. For the gambler, his family will likely have to help pay his debt to avoid the consequences of unpaid debt in prison. For the rest of us prisoners, his wife, children, mother and father, siblings, and other loved ones all share the burden of our stupid decisions. 

And politicians? Well, like with prisoners, it's the innocent ones who suffer the consequences of their stupid choices.