Prisoner M’s in a red cell for observation—not because he
wants to kill himself (or does he?)—you can never be too careful with human
capital. He’s a liability. He received a major violation for possession of a
dangerous weapon—his prep work for naught: a melted down toothbrush handle with
an embedded razor blade. Prisoner M resides in 7-block where they house the
mentally ill. I saw him being transported to the kangaroo court in a brown
jumpsuit, handcuffs and leg-irons. Last week I scolded him for leaving a mess
in my classroom. “I’m not your mommy,” I said, “and I’m not your daddy. Pick up
after yourself.”
As for the forked-tongue man, he returned from segregation this
week. I guess a trade to another correctional facility was out of the question;
his reputation precedes him. We continued our conversation about his childhood.
He told me about the time he placed the barrel of a gun against his temple and
pulled the trigger. He was eight. “Too small of a caliber,” he says, as if a
child at that age should know better. He has my attention. He continues,
“Another time I put the barrel in my mouth but the bullet went through the back
of my neck.” He makes a quarter turn and lifts his ponytail to show me the exit
wound. He’s laughing. He says he’s going to quit his math assignments and
concentrate on science. “That way,” he says, “I’ll know the exact location of my
brainstem.”
I hand him a pencil.
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Thank you Renee for the link: http://www.peteearley.com/
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Thank you Renee for the link: http://www.peteearley.com/
7 comments:
A child placing a gun at his head or in his mouth. Tragic. Boggles the mind.
The tragedy is the ready access to the gun. So how far into biology 1 does he have to go to get to his goal, maybe by then he will want to know where his brain is and then use what left of it to find he might actually like learning.
Like Einstein once pondered as he glanced out from his Harvard office window overlooking the local insane asylum: "I am the mad man on the outside looking in and they are the mad men on the inside looking out,". At least one of his sons was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Thanks for the link! I was thinking of a book entitled "Mad In America" that I read some years ago....can't recall the author off hand though.
I don't often agree with Jeff Gerritt but his latest article in the Detroit Free Press regarding Michigan's handling of the mentally ill struck a chord. I'm seeing too much of the unusual in an "unusual" environment. Also, Gerritt has been to our facility as a guest speaker for graduation ceremonies.
Your post reminded me of a qoute from Mark Twain. "Once I talked to the inmates of an insane asylum in Hartford. I have talked to idiots a thousand times but only once to the insane." I can identify with this. Now a days it's hard to tell the difference. Enjoyed the read.
Huck :)
I don't know about this, but I might have a clue. This afternoon I met a man who somehow got what hs said was a herniated spine-- which somehow insinuated itself into his left boot!
I just noticed your entry now and I am so surprised in a good way by the way you compose your blog post! Which methods do you use to spread the word that you provided a brand new post to your site?
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