TrueStory

letters from prison

Getting arrested is usually stressful enough but one time it really put the stress on me. I spent quite a few days in jail back in the late eighties and early nineties for sitting in at abortion clinics. I have a lot of stories about those times and some are real funny. Did I tell you this is a true story? well it is! I couldn’t make stuff like this up if I tried, no one could. Anyway, I went to court one time in the Cambridge court house, the tall one that has the Superior Court and the Jail on top. And the prosecutor wanted me to agree to be a good boy and say I would not go back there. I said no, and that’s when the trouble hit. Before anything else came out my mouth I heard them say “held without bail” boom and off I go. Seemed reasonable, bank robber before me got $100,000, and a drug kingpin half a million. Me? no bail, held til trial? I thought this was not good, but it had some benefits I found out, as we all were sitting in the holding cell waiting to get processed in to the jail everyone was bragging on their bail amounts. Apparently there is a status and pecking order based on your crime and bail amount in the jails. So everyone in there, the whole days worth, were doing there bragging while I was just sitting trying to stay unnoticed off to the side. Next thing I know some murderer or something similar looks right at me and says, “hey preacher what about you, what you in for?”. So I turned and said “ well I was sitting in front of a door over by the Commons at the abortion clinic” I thought that sounded pretty tough, but I guess not and a lot of laughing broke out. But then I thought of something and said “wanna know what my bail is too?” and they said sure,. So I told them ...no bail, held til trial! Took a mnute for them to get it confirmed and I was in! Respect! Feeling good!

This is a true story, did I say that? Ok, so now off to the jail, and I lucked out and got in the “dorm” just a huge cell with about 20 bunkbeds. I thought man this won’t be so bad, the CO pointed me toward a bumk with my jail; stuff and as I already knew from past occasions the lower bunk was the senior mans so I would be on top. I get ready to climb up and the fella on the bottom bunk kinda squirms and comes out from under the covers. True story! he looks at me and as I look back I see it. There on his forehead in big, I mean big bold black letters it says....

DEATH TO THE WORLD

wow, this is not gonna be so fun after all, of all the bunks and all the people? I have never seen a bigger bolder tattoo on someone's forehead, not before or after, that was some month or so, mostly just stayed right up on my bunk and tried to stay alive...true story, really.

Reviews

[JBoone]

WOW!!! Great story and so well written. Funny and scary all at the same time.