Maximum Security

When you think of a maximum security prison, what do you think of? Think they are stuck in their cells with nothing but a bed, toilet and sink? No freedom to do anything? That is what I always thought until I went there!

Jesse is currently working (2 days a week) at the Green Bay Maximum Security Prison and they were giving tours on Saturday... we went to check it out. You ever have those feelings where you want to see it, but then again you really don't. That was how I felt about it, but my feeling of having to see won.

The building was this huge, old, creepy brick building. Oh, we went at night and it was dark. Even more creepy! We had to be stamped before we could enter with ink that you could only see under a black light. I was so afraid to cross my arms in fear that my stamp would rub off and they wouldn't let me out... but I am girl and they only allow males. Whew!

We saw the visitor center, where outside people come to see the prisoners. They told us about how the outsiders try to sneak items (mostly drugs) into the prison to the inmates. How the inmates have figured out that a certain shoe has a secret compartment in it if you peel back the sole of the shoe just a little bit.

The inmates can order things (clothing, etc) and have it shipped to the prison for them!! (Why!!? I thought this was max. security?!!) They do have to have a receipt from the store to prove that it came from a legitimate place and it doesn't have drugs hidden somewhere in the item.

Now, they are so over crowded that they have run out of cells so they just (in Lynn terms... not in official wording) set up a huge room with beds and they all stay in this huge gym size room... no metal bars to keep them in. They have about 30 other guys with them to talk to all day long. We didn't actually see this... we just seen pictures and we were told about it. Of course if one of them started acting up they would do something about it and probably send them to isolation (segregation as they call it). These guys are probably not so dangerous on the dangerous scale.

We see pictures of what a typical cell looks like. I am telling you they have more stuff shoved in their cell! They have TVs, and anything else that you can imagine. We also took a few of our friends with us on the tour and our friend Lacy said it best "It is like putting a child in time out, in their room. They have all their favorite toys to play with on their time out."

We took a walk over to the cells. We don't actually see the cells or any inmates (as Jesse would say, this is not a zoo where you can look at the people!). You can look down the hallway without actually seeing any inmates.... long hallway of bars on either side. While we were there they were handing out ice. Yeah, ice!!! Just ice!!! No water to go with the ice!! Odd!! I looked at our tour-guide (a guard) and said... they are giving them ice!? She kind of rolled her eyes and said, yes we have to give them ice once a day. What do they do with their ice? No idea... try to cool their tap water down... I don't know. Eat ice chips at night? Very odd. I was peaking down the hallway while another guard was handing out the ice and I would watch the inmate pass the guard a cup, the guard would fill it with ice and pass it back. To every inmate! There was even a 'station' where the guards were filling up bags with ice... were they going to give them to the inmates with a cup?? I don't know, but it was sure odd.

We moved onto another section of cells and over here they were a bit loud. Hooten and hollern about who knows what. (They must of either ate all their ice and now they are bored or they didn't get it yet.) Anyway, we are standing there and our guide is explaining something to us, but I am too preoccupied by an inmate who keeps sticking an item out of his cell (so I stopped listening to her). I had to tell her that someone was sticking things out of his cell... because it was bothering me. She said, that he was sticking out his fingernail clippers and using it as a mirror to see us. Ah, creepy!! (How many times do I say creepy in this post??) And why do they get fingernail clippers?? We can't take them on the plane but an inmate can have one? Hmmm.

We also saw the bath house... nothing special just like the showers in a locker room. The get 10 minutes to shower. She said they warn them when their time is getting close to up and if they don't have the soap out... too bad. Can you imagine? Oh heavens. I would have soap left in my hair every time!

We went to their school. They have a few class rooms where the inmates can sign up to get their g.e.d or whatever they would need school for. They also have a barber shop, masonry, and some other learning center where they can leave with some job skills so they could possible get a job when they leave. Seriously in the barber shop there were those heads of hair sitting around for them to practice on. I guess I never thought I would see that on my tour. Our guide said that no one usually takes these classes... maybe a couple out of a 1000.

We went over to Jesse's building where he works. Had to walk outside to get there, remember it is still dark out! Creepy!! You see a couple of other buildings along your way and then a huge fence running along the outside with the watchtower. Yup, there were people in the tower watching for someone to escape!

We didn't get to go to Jesse's floor where he works just the main level. So on the main level on both far ends they have what they call segregation! This means one inmate per cell, and they stay in there 23 out of 24 hours. They have a real small window to see and that is it. While we looked down that hallway (which was behind a closed and locked door) you could see one of the inmates peeking out his window.... I wouldn't look, I was a bit freaked out to see him looking back at me.

Our last stop was the cafeteria! Where they had some cookie bars and juice. Our guide was really pushing us to eat the bars and to have a snack. I grab one first and take a bite and Jesse says... The inmates make these bars? Ahhhh... what??! They did.

Now you all have toured the prison! Of course they had all kinds of guards everywhere and lots of locked doors. Honestly, it did not feel like a maximum security prison to me. I did not feel 100% safe... and I was (or at least that is what I was told). I am not sure how Jesse does this job, but he really enjoys it. He says, they are still human and they still deserve the help that I can provide them. You go Jesse!

Fall Weekends

My Aunts and Cousins (maybe a quarter of them... there are lots more that didn't come!)

A couple of weekends ago my Aunt held her annual 'Soup Off'. We all go to her house with our best pot of soup and compete for the soup ladle trophy! No, I didn't win. I did get second place!! I made a green chicken tortilla soup.

I did win the football kicking contest!! Yup, that's right I kicked the football the farthest for the girls!! Thanks to Mr. Kelcheski, our 8th grade Ph. Ed. teacher, who spent weeks on teaching us how to properly punt a football. Looks like I still got it! : )

I won myself some very yummy cut-out cookies.

Uncle Tom won for the guys.

My Aunt & Uncle also set up a 'station' for practicing your gun shot. The guys got real excited about this! They did get real competitive over the football kicking... but I am afraid some of them may have limped into work on Monday from pulling a muscle. I took my turn at the target... and well... I missed! I hit her garden fence instead of the target! Oops! Good thing I wasn't the only one... my sister hit it too!! (My Mom will probably have pictures of us shooting the guns on her site. She might even show you the garden fence with the proof that we hit it!)

This past weekend my Sister, Niece, Mom, and I went to a corn maze for the day. It was so much fun. Elly loved it! We decided to do the kid maze because the other was very muddy and the workers told us that 2 girls lost their shoes in it... it was that sticky, suctiony mud. The kid maze was less traveled which meant less mud!

It was like a scavenger hunt in the maze for Elly. She had to find all these items that had to do with nursery rhymes. She loved it!

We went on a hay wagon ride to see this big round barn. It was pretty neat. The want to fix the barn up and hold parties/weddings in it.

They had big round hay bails set up in a maze that the little kids to do on their own and Elly thought that was coolest thing ever! She couldn't get enough of them. Even when it was time to leave she cried because she wanted to play in the maze. What are aunties for??? I grabbed her hand and took off running for the maze and said "Come on El we can do this one more time!" As we are running she is giggling and then stops half way to the maze and looks back at her Mom and Grandma and isn't quite sure what she should do... follow Tia and have fun - or - go back to Mom. I won!! She turned around and ran back to the maze for one last time. Giggling the whole way! Hey, she got in the truck with out crying and pouting... I think I did a good thing!

After that we found our way to Applebees and a few stores. It was a great day for us girls!

Fish, Paint, and Dirt

This past weekend we headed back to our parents house for a little visit. Friday night we arrived at Jesse's brother's house [Jerry]. We went to a local corn maize...which was pretty fun. Then finished the night off with an Oktoberfest in Little Chicago. Oh what a treat! We weren't there more then 5 minutes and I already had a drunk guy coming up to me asking me if I knew how to dance. I told him no, which wasn't a lie! He didn't believe me and told me that he could teach me. Oh goodie! He wanted me to dance to Polka music!! We didn't stay long.

Saturday Jesse and I had my little niece for the afternoon. We took her to Jesse's parents pond to splash around. It was in the 80s with very high humidity... so the pond was refreshing to splash around in. Elly was insistent that I go and look in the bag that her mom packed her to see if her swim suit was in there. It wasn't!! That water wasn't that warm!

Jesse and Elly went fishing in the pond. All they had to do was stick a fishing pole with a hook in the water and the fish would bite at it! You didn't even need bait!! She thought that was pretty cool. Although we kind of gave her the wrong impression about fishing... usually you wait for hours for a bite... not 30 seconds.

My cousin, Shawna, and her family showed up to Jesse's house for a little bit. Her oldest son, Josh, spotted Jesse's dirt bike in the back of our truck. At first I tried to tell him it was my bike, but he was too smart... he wanted to see me ride it. Um....

Before they could leave they wanted to hear Jesse's bike! Jesse unloaded his bike and did a few tricks for the kids... wheelies. The boys went nuts! They thought that was the coolest thing and they thought he was Evil Kenevil!!

Saturday night we made our way back out to Jerry's house. I finished painting his garage for him!! Okay, I helped - I painted the last coat on all but 1 wall!!

On Sunday we were at my parents house. I was able to talk my Dad into letting me take his 4-wheeler out to the hunting shack. When I say "talk my Dad into" I really mean I had to do some talking!! He just got done washing it when I decided I wanted to go out to the woods... and he wasn't too excited about letting me get it dirty again... but isn't that what wheelers are for??

Jesse rode his bike and I followed behind on the 4-wheeler. Following this guy out to the woods was insane. We had take the road for about 3 miles before we got to the woods and he was doing wheelies the whole way there!!! Then he started fish-tailing around on the road... crazy stuff!! I was getting kind of nervous... yes, he wore his helmet but still!!

Before we left the hunting shack Jesse wanted to practice a few more wheelies... so he went up and down the drive way while I tried to get a picture.

And that was our weekend!! Enjoy the pictures below!