How to Spend a Rainy Day in Prison

 The meteorologist said the day would be marked by spotty, occasional showers. The radar showed rain moving through, but it looked like I could still schedule my run for the afternoon yard time. It was the weekend, and though I often exercise throughout the week, the weekends are normally for sure exercise days. 

So, when the corrections officer called breakfast in our unit and it was lightly sprinkling, I figured it wouldn't last long. Boy was I wrong. So was the meteorologist (big surprise, right?). 

After breakfast, the light sprinkling continued, and then it turned to a steady light rain. Surely it wouldn't last long, right? Wrong. It turns out it rained all day, a steady light rain, just hard enough to keep everyone indoors. The rain, combined with the reality that most prisoners were not working on the weekend meant the dayroom would be packed. 

I spent the morning in my cell, catching up on some news and playing a new golfing video game I just purchased (I'm not really a video game guy, normally). After count time, lunch was called, and we walked to lunch in the rain. At least the chicken patties were decent for a change. I and a few friends had started playing a game one of them designed, based off the game "Pandemic," and after lunch we returned to it to finish the game. We had planned to play a second time, but our plans quickly changed. 

Because everyone was indoors, the dayroom was packed and very loud. After lunch, we noticed some guys had snuck in some prison hooch (homemade alcohol). That's always a good indicator that things are about to get louder and potentially more volatile. So, we finished our first game and called it a day. 

The rest of the day I spent in my cell, watching some sports, playing a little more of the golfing game, and taking a nap. As far as I know, no drama transpired in the dayroom after we left, but I was happy to not stick around and find out. Paying attention to one's surroundings in prison pays off when you can learn to avoid a lot of situations that may escalate. 

The day turned out to be a mostly quiet, lazy day. I'm the kind of person who prefers to stay busy and productive, but I do appreciate a day to relax every once in a while (and we've needed the rain!). Of course, I'd rather relax outside of prison, but we make the best of our situations, right? I'm grateful I at least have a good bunkie so my cell is a place of refuge from the often chaotic conditions in prison.