He’s a loner—the white prisoner sitting near the front of my
classroom; most of my students prefer to sit in the back. But this guy, he
knows all too well that you don’t come to prison to make friends. He says to
me, “Can I see the ‘A’ World Book,” and I reply, “No problem, ID card first.”
He’s not happy surrendering his card and tells me so. “Don’t lose it,” he says,
“I’m not paying for a new one.”
For the next hour or so I observe him studying the “A” World
Book. He’s taking notes. Before class ends he asks if I’d be so kind as to copy
a few pages for him. “Let me see what you’ve got,” I answer. He retrieves the
book and places it on my desk, along with a sheet of paper indicating the pages
of interest. Here are the topics:
Airport security.
Ammunition.
Artillery.
“I’m not copying this for you,” I tell him.
Now he’s pissed. “When I get out,” he says, “I’m gonna kill
as many people as I can.” There’s very little emotion in his face, only that
look of determination. He tells me I’m no better than the librarian who
wouldn’t approve a book he wanted. I try to lighten-up the conversation a bit.
“What book?” I ask. He studies my expression to see if I’m interested in
helping him out. I maintain my poker face. “’American Sniper’ by Chris Kyle,” he
responds. “It’s about a Navy SEAL who kills a lot of people.”
I start laughing, which catches him off guard.
“What’s so f*%^ing
funny?” he asks.
I tell him that my dad just finished “American Sniper” and that
he really enjoyed it. He tries to be nice again, he asks if I’d bring it in for
him. I guess you can’t blame a guy for trying.
6 comments:
Glad you're not having a staycation Jim.
Maybe he should have mixed a few other things in there to throw you off the trail. Wow is all I can say
That is tight. Sounds like a real Charles Joseph Whitman type you've got there. My only q. is: was he, like Whitman, ever trained in the military?
Oh yeah, and: how long is he in for real?
Meanwhile, here's to the freedom of travel of those not locked up for a purpose!
Oh no, not like Tiger Woods, more like Will Ferrell, I'm Swedish bound!!!
J.R.-I'm so envious of your 'Scanda-cation'! Enjoy and take the break that you sooooooo deserve. Take lots of pics. xo
Much material to glean from there.
Get a good read from those who know your circumstance. Envious of your metamorphis. Your story is worth telling. What happens behind the fences pales to what happens outside of them. Enjoy the vacation you well deserve. But keep writing and posting? Huck :)
Post a Comment