Other essays on this theme

Essay: "The View from My Cell"

by Glen Vivenzio
I look outside through 4 clear slats of Lexan that measure 5” x 31”. Being on an upper tier these horizontal slats never get cleaned on the outside by anything except the rain. There is nothing particularly interesting about this new style correctional window. By new style, I mean no bars to tie a rope off or saw through. There is a time that the cell window has something to offer. Every spring a fat, gold colored spider shows up and sets a web up in one of the corners. After a month or so her offspring set up shop in the other three corners. Then after awhile they are gone! I’m not sure, but I think the crows get them. I’ve never witnessed this happen, but every year the spiders vanish without a trace.

My cell window looks west toward Puget Sound. I cannot see the sound, just a fir covered ridge above the infirmary and chowhall. Looking sideways to the left is the big yard and next to that is the greenhouse where I work. Above the razor wire is Bald mountain. It is a rounded, clear cut hill with two large water tanks and a com. tower. Clear cut except for a stand of maple trees that run partway across above the water tanks. In the spring, I’ve seen deer up there, usually a doe and a couple of fawns… Sideways to the right I can see the gym, hobby shop, and school. I’m a T.A. in the horticulture class. We do not hang out much in the classroom, unless it fog lines. The greenhouse is where it’s happening. We sow seed trays, propagate cuttings, and mix up potting soil. If it’s not too busy in there, we play chess and listen to jazz on the radio. A couple of students have even put a shovel in the ground. Later on, when things warm up a little more, we’ll put those seedlings and cuttings in the gardens. Whatever is left over, we sell to the staff at plant sales. Except for the teacher, our horticulture class is self-sustaining and all proceeds from sales are put back into the program. Vegetables we harvest in summer and fall the teacher takes to the local food bank in Monroe.

There is another window in my cell, a long, thin vertical one in the wooden door. It is known as a Judas window. I’m not sure why it’s called that. It looks down into the dayroom where inmates play cards, dominos or chess. Some just hang out. Since the D.O.C. went smokeless, we have less to do during the day. Besides calming the nerves, smoking can keep a person busy all day long. Despite the health risk, I hope they bring it back. Banning tobacco has led to a brisk black market. Much like prohibition, and the war on drugs, they create more problems because the high profit margin in the underground tobacco trade, at $50-$100 a bag, even tempts the staff to bring it in. I can see the cop’s control panel. Except for tier checks, this is where they hang out. This unit has two man cells, so solitude is a rare commodity around here.