Monday, October 15, 2012

Jibber-Jabber

The idea of being frightened at work came up the other day in a conversation.  I said it was only natural at times, seeing as we worked in a prison, for someone to be frightened now and then.  The secret of course, is to only be frightened now and then or at best save it for later when you are walking out in the parking lot.  Then you can have a full blown case of the whim-whams and nobody will get hurt because you locked up.

I'll admit that I've been frightened a few times here.  But for the most part I've managed to keep it under wraps until later and managed to get the job done.

Heck, I was scared green when I went up to interview for Sergeant.  I walked out of there thinking "Well, I was a nervous wreck and I'm sure it showed!"

And then they promoted me.  Go figure.

Anyway, the question was asked if there were any inmates I was scared of.  To which I replied "Only one.  Freestyle.  He scares the snap out of me sometimes."

Freestyle is a young man, about six foot four, maybe 260 pounds of mostly solid muscle.  And crazy as a water balloon full of porcupines.  When he's taking his meds and in control of himself, he is one of the nicest guys.  He likes me, since we go way back, and considers me to be "family."

I'm not really sure why he likes me so much but I'll take it where I can get it.  That has gotten me out of a few jams with him.

But when he's off his meds and in one of those "manic" stages he's riding a bicycle underwater upside down with a duck in your back pocket crazy.  And right now he is right smack in the middle of one of those stages.

I had to go down to the Hive for an hour or so this evening and old Freestyle was having trouble breathing, or so he said.  We had to get him out so the nurse could examine him and I talked to him the whole time, trying to keep him focused on the fact that I was there talking to him.  I think it helped.  It kept him calm, anyway.

He asked to speak to me afterwards and I stood there and listened politely while he spouted a five minute rant that was all one sentence and went something like this:

"SargeRevmanIneedtotalktoyoumanIneedsomethingtoreadmansomeholybookorscripturesorsomethingitcouldbe
KingJamesortheholybibleorthekoranorthemormonbibleorevensomethinginchinesemanIdon'tcareaslongasit'sholy
scripturesithastobesacredwordsSargemanbecauseyouknowhowIamIneedsomescripturestoreadorI'llgocrazy
youknowhowitisSargeyouareaholyauthorasacredauthorIseeitinyoursoulyoutooareasacredauthorSargeman
it'sjustlikewhenIwasbackhomeIsawthisgirlshewassoflyIthought"Whoo"shehadthisprettyhairandeverythingbutshe
wentandmarriedthisguywhoisdoingfeddrugtimerightnowhecameandngavemeallthismethnotthatnastybluestuffyou
seeonteeveebuttheredcrunchystuffthat'srealheroinmanIwasdoingsomeofitworkinginthisplaceputtingtogether
aluminumsawhorsesanddoingmethandrappingwithmypartnerandputtingtogethersawhorsesandpilingthemup
ahundredtoapalletlikeitwasnothingbuthtisdudewithtesenastybuckteethandamouthfulofgoldslikeallthiscameup
andgavemesomemoneyandsaidifwewantedtheplacewehadtopaintitbutitwastwohundredamonthifwepaintedit
butIwasinjailandIcouldn'tpaintanythingbuthewasn'tgoingtogetmeallcaughtupinthatnastyraplikethatSargemanIwas
toosmartforhimbutsomeonepainteditwhileIwasinjailsoitwasonlytwohundredamonthandifyouseeSergeantWatcher
wouldyoupleasehavehimcomeandtalktome?"

I skipped some of that conversation. Frankly, it went by me so fast I missed large parts of what he was saying.  And my head is still ringing a bit from even being that close to that many words all piled up together.

I was just glad he was back safely behind that big steel door.

Even if he is a nice guy and likes me.  He still scares the snap out of me sometimes.

6 comments:

  1. I would think that being afraid sometimes helps keep you on your toes. There were times at the alarm company when I was in a building by myself and I heard the burglar that I was a touch afraid myself. But a crazy 260 pound mass of muscle would scare the hell out of me most every day.

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    1. Joe- Sometimes my "spidey senses" start tingling for no apparent reason and I always pay attention when they do. My senses tingle around that man all of the time, trust me.

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  2. I got as far as "but the red crunchy stuff" when a blood vessel burst in brain trying to read that.

    So now I'm dead.

    And we have WI-Fi in the afterlife.

    And Abe Lincoln says hi.

    He likes your blog.

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    Replies
    1. Bryan- I'm sorry I killed you. You should have tried listening to it. Or trying to write about it afterwards.

      And tell Abe to comment once in awhile!

      Delete
  3. Whoo, I recognize this stuff. Would it be hyperthyroid, or the other one, hypothyroid? Either way, the meds do the biz. Haven't had it personally but have known 2 near and dear with the problem.

    But how about this, in today's news?

    The 'silent epidemic': Children who suffer brain injuries are more likely to become criminals later in life

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    Replies
    1. Vincent- You know, that article just doesn't really surprise me. I've looked at more than one inmate and my first thought is "brain damage." Either through accident or genetics.

      Delete