Under Lock and Key for mtmynd.

[gypsyjoker]

When we left all the staff told us we were one of the best group they ever had. But they probably say that to all the volunteers. We were a small study, only eight. Me, a devout catholic who has a son going to Notre Dame (great football game me the catholic watched together one saturday. Across the street from the former mental hospital we were locked up in, was
Santa Rosa Hospital. Maybe 20 stories with huge neon lights on the top, spelling out Santa Rosa, except the R was burned out. Is there a saint Osa? We were walking buddies, they let us out for 3 half hour walks daily. Out into the tennis court with its 16 foot high chain link fence we did laps 11 was a mile. I lost it one day, got so claustrophobic I tried to climb my way out. When I left they were installing razor wire on top.

Six to go.
the Apache on the Jesus Road., preacher, pastor, doing time with his wife. Spent most of his time with her. But the first night he identified himself to me as a minister who no longer carried his badge (former lawman?, we did not go into that. He tells me that the bible is one continous story, it is one document, it must be accepted as the whole truth and nothing but it. Ok I can follow him on that. The bible being one book. A Friend told me that the Guttenberg Bible was one long paragraph from Gen to Rev. No chapter and verse, no punctuation? just one sentence? But I had the chip on my shoulder, waiting for him to knock it off. I mention that one hundred and fifty years ago good christian people were reading their bibles and felt very comfortable with slavery. That seemed to hit home, I mention Buddha and Zen and he looked pained. I let it go. He called on the lord to take my claustrophobia away. I said I wasn't losing no sleep over that, but since he was asking could he take the cigarettes away. One day I got into a ramble about the first plastic bottles back in the early sixties, how they had set these arbitrary limits on how much plastisizer would leach out into the bottled liquid. The preacher said he wasn't losing no sleep over that. His wife mentioned children and birth defects. Later in the week they got on the subject of the proposed constituitional ammendment to the Texas Constituition that would bar same sex marriage. I got my chance to say. "I ain't losing any sleep over that."

Navy veteran, one latino who had no use for George W. We never said much but the last day he came up and shook my hand. A lot of Spanish going on that I could not understand at all. But by the time I left everyone was giving me spanish lessons.

five to go

got to go
work in progress, I'll tell you when I am done.
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another veteran, Army, The Texican, funny. No use for the commander in chief either. Dark complexion, the only smoker in the group, we all walking he standing smoking. I would stop and stand down wind from him and inhale as much second hand smoke as possible. We talked about posties post traumies, me talking about selective service, psychiatrists and shot guns, he talking how his sargaent had kept him from being a dead hero. Good man. I probably talked more english to him than any one. I
four

able the jehovah's witness. Quiet man, calm, a look in his eyes , he was not expecting anything that he could not handle. He was my room mate starting the second night. We had a hug room to ourselves. The first night they put six of us in one room. The beds had rollers under them and they were very close together maybe two feet. When you got up to go give blood every hour the beds would move when you laid back down. I almost woke up in the same bed as the Apache minister a couple times
11/02/05

[gypsyjoker]

Not sure if I will do anymore, there is another side, naturally, the army vet starts telling me about a marine division during the Korean War. He says they lost thier colors, they retreated and left their colors behind. They can never return to the united states because of their shame. Gently I probe his words. "Where did you hear that Thomas?"

Thomas was a good soldier I can see that, fearless, he goes to kill the enemy, his sargeant explains it to him like he is a lttle kid.

[tinkerjack]

I say wisdom is a woman, and the preacher looks at his wife with proprietary pride and says she has a lot of great ideas. His wife looks like she don't want to rock the boat. I know nothing about marriage but it looks like she has no issues with St Paul's head of household. He dotes on his grand children who come to visit on sunday. But he don't lose no sleep about the Association of Chemical Manufactures or what they dump into the water. His wife mentions the children when I finish my rant about this poisoned earth we are creating. I can only nod my head in gratitude.

So many women Cecil, one beauty I would sit there and try not to stare at the back her neck from where her pixie haircut ended, but when she jabbed the needle in I just had to sink my eyes into that long beautiful flowing neck. Then she locked my leg between her knees. No idea why, could she feel the heat of my eyes on the back of her neck, was I starting to tremble with desire, was she just trying to hold me down so she got get into the vein?