One article I read recently was all about how some gangs are running criminal enterprises from behind bars. Many gang leaders are locked up but are still able to give directions to their fellow gang members who are still on the outside. This was somewhat normal but now the anti has been raised as alliances with Mexican Drug Cartels have been discovered.

There have been examples of inmates using the language of Nahuatl (The ancient Aztec Language) to communicate with others in order to fool the censors. Many inmates already had ties to fellow Mexicans and so the relationship seems a natural step forward. Authorities fear that the problem will only worsen as time goes by due to budget concerns. I think it’s a shame that something more can’t be done!

Once you get into prison life, you start to realize that there are different layers of prisoners. One group that usually has it pretty well is the trustees. These inmates are recognized for their good behavior by the powers that be and are given special duties and rights that the other inmates do not have.

At the receiving center, this was also the case. The trustees were allowed to have some benefits, such as a pool room, single cells, and sometimes better food. In exchange, the trustees performed tasks given to them that required some trust on the part of the administration. They were allowed out of their cells to do them when everyone else was on lockdown.

There has always been the perception that all trustees will “snitch” when they get the chance. While this is sometimes true, it is not always the case. They do sometimes provide services to the other inmates by being “Mules” that is, they would sometimes deliver items such as cigarettes and food to other inmates who could not send or receive them otherwise.

One thing that is very important to understand is that prison can be very uncomfortable. There is usually no air conditioning or other amenities that we all have come to enjoy. During the summer months, life can be almost unbearable when it comes to temperatures. It can be very hot and there is little relief.

I remember some of the tricks that inmates used to combat the heat. We used to put our mattresses on the floor just to be a degree or two cooler. Some would put cold water on their beds in order to make sleeping bearable. It can be very difficult to sleep when it is extremely hot. Fans can be an option for some, but even then, they are but a temporary relief.

Now that I am back out in the world, I take great pleasure in our AC. It is wonderful to crank it up and be chilly in the midst of summer. I enjoy the times when I need a blanket to sleep. It is a far cry from the nights when I had to sweat it out!

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.

One thing I didn’t like about receiving was that we only got out of our cells on every other night. Due to the fact that there were so many people there, it was a security risk to let us all out at once.

There were two sides in our wing with each side three tiers tall, this added up to a lot of inmates. One night the gates would open on the right side, the next night would be the left sides turn. It always was good when it was our night. We then had access to watch TV and walk about in the common area.

We could visit with the other side and communicate with them through the bars, but they were locked inside and couldn’t come out to play! It was just another annoyance we had to put up with on a day to day basis.