Well I made it. I got out of two days ago. For those of you who were looking to follow the blog, I quickly realized that if the staff found out that I was describing what was going on there, I would be in real trouble. So I decided to stop the project then and there.

I'll be writing an extensive guide to prison life in the next few months and I will let you know when it is done. The information I got here was good, but in the end, nothing can quite prepare you for being treated like a sub-human and having all your freedom taken away. On top of that, I think the BOP is perhaps the most dysfuntional organization in the US govt.

Anyway, the good news is I survived, as will most who are in now or on their way. Any questions, please feel free to ask.

welcome home

Welcome Home!!!

welcome back, looking forward to your insights, and glad you stayed under the radar.

Welcome home and i hope to hear what you experianced in the hell hole, I will be leaving in a couple of weeks im sure i will get the letter in a few days of the date.....

Welcome home! I look forward to reading of your adventures

welcome home!!

Welcome home!!!! Doesn't seem like 6 months, but I'm sure it did to you!
<<<<<<<hug>>>>>

welcome fartoodeep and thank you very much for coming to share your experience; I am sure it will be very helpful.

Welcome Back!!

Welcome home...looking forward to your further posts.

Welcome home, Far!

welcome home!!!
Looking forward to hearing your experiences, please write us a post and describe what you felt.I totally agree about the dis-organization. My son is in now, wasn,t when you were posting. I remember you> good to have you back!!!!!!

Welcome back to pto!!! I can't wait to hear of your experiences as I'm sure it will be helpful to many that are on their way.

Welcome Home :D

Welcome Home! Time flew by.......well at least it did for me remembering when you were getting ready to leave! Good to have you back! Looking forward to read about your experience!

Welcome back. It doesn't seem like it was six months to me - but I'm sure it felt like that to you!! Z.

Welcome back.

Thanks guys. Like I said, I am going to write something in detail later. For now though, I can say that it was certainly an interesting experience. Sometimes it seemed like it would never end. And sometimes I was totally used to it and dare I say, even comfortable. The main thing I learned is that no one in the BOP cares at all about you- you are a prisoner, a sub-human. It was hard to get my head wrapped around that, especially in the beginning.

Also, the term passing the buck has never been so fitting. No staff member wants to take on a problem. You are constantly told to go see so and so, who in turn tells you to go see so and so.

I have very little good to say about most of the staff. But a few of them were very decent, helpful people. I believe this to be true of most prisons and it's important to become familiar with who these people are.

The food is horrible. I gained 15 pounds in 6 months. Nothing but carbs and sugar.

Generally, if you keep quiet and stay under the radar, no one will bother you (staff or inmates). I was in a FMC so there were people from all kinds of prisons and some, like me, doing their entire sentence there.

At the end of the day, I can't complain too much. Most of the people I spent time with there either had years behind them or years to go. A number had decades or even life.

I think the most important thing is to stay active physically and mentally. The place can wear you down quick if you don't take care of yourself.

Best of luck to anyone on their way in. One thing is certain, the time does pass.

The food is horrible. I gained 15 pounds in 6 months. Nothing but carbs and sugar.

Couldn't you have bought at the commissary and made healthier choices?? I would think the food would be better at an FMC! What about those with medical conditions that require special diets?

At mainline, you can get the regular food, heart healthy food or dialysis food if you qualify. it's all s#it. I am a vegetarian by the way. If you eat fish, you can buy packaged tuna and other fish from commisary. If you want to eat healthy, you go to the black market. Broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers and various meats are always for sale. The only veggies the commisary sells is onions and garlic.

Welcome Home :)

Welcome back! You are the first person I sort of knew who has gone in and come back out. It may be hard to describe it all, but it will be (as you know) of immense help to everyone else. Let us know how the transition back to freedom goes, too.

Speaking of the food. Yes, you can buy food in the commissary, but the only vegetables available to my son are garlic and onions, and for protein he eats mackerel (which took him a while to get used to, but it's good protein.) Other than that, the 'salad bar' consists of mostly yucky iceberg lettuce and that's it! Lots of grits, I guess, too.

Welcome Home! Good luck to you!