When I first got to the receiving center and had settled in a bit, I was disappointed with some of the things that were different from jail. One of these things was the fact that we were only allowed to shower every other day. At the jail I was in, we had access to the showers every day. This was very inconvenient as the weather was getting hotter and a cool shower would have been nice.

I know that there were many people to take care of at the center, but I certainly felt that there was enough time to let everyone shower. All in all, I was not thrilled with the receiving center and this is but one of the reasons why.

The door contained a small glass window that you could look out of. There was not much to see, just the hallway and the window of the cell across the hall. Occasionally, you may see a passer by, but not too often. I was dressed in a paper suit. Yes! An outfit made of paper to protect me from hurting myself. I can assure you that I had no intention of self inflicted wounds; it was just common practice for new admittees.

At night, a guard would bring a bedroll. Covered with green plastic which had a peculiar smell, the roll was about three inches thick and none too comfortable. I was given a blanket which was much too short, and was cold all through the night. I spent four days in the cell and have more to tell about it, but I can say that after four days, I knew that jail was not going to be fun!

One of the most unpleasant ordeals you will go through in prison is to be sprayed down. After my entrance to the receiving center, I was taken to a holding cell until all new arrivals were there. We were then taken three at a time to a concrete shower room. We were asked to strip down and we did so. With our bare feet on the cold floor, we were lined up three abreast in the center of the room.

The C.O. (he had on a mask) brought out a sprayer. Arms up! He sprayed. Turn around! He sprayed. Lift up your sack! He sprayed. We were now covered by the stinky concoction designed to rid us of all manner of bedbugs. The inmate will find many things to worry about during this operation. Are these chemicals healthy? Why do we need to walk on a bare floor with our bare feet? Why does he have a mask and we don’t?

There was no hope of “Bucking”. All inmates went through this process. We were taken to another holding pen and informed we were not to shower for at least 24 hours. At this point, we felt pretty low. Covered by a sticky, stinky chemical film, we knew we were in for a long night!