If the Cheatham County Jail is my town, and the "D" Dorm (Delta) is my neighborhood, then , cell #10 is my home residence. More than anyone else in the dorm, I remain at home the vast majority of time. I am a person who enjoys solitude. Of course, that is a very relative measure,because there isn't really any solitude, as most of us would define it , in a jail dorm. I don't completely isolate myself, and will address that topic soon in a future blog. But is my own choice to stay at "home" most of the time.
Cell #10, located in a so to speak "cul du sac" at the head of the stairs, is eight , plus a half, concrete blocks long. That is 11 feet and a few inches. Its width is 5 blocks plus a half. That calculates to 7 feet and a few inches. Across the front of the cell are iron bars built in spaced horizontal thick steel framing. It is the icon of what everyone pictures as jail.
Looking in from the cell door, the left wall at roughly 7 feet turns in to the room. This narrows the room but also provides an 18 inch alcove for the bunk. The bunk is about 36 inches wide. So half the bunk sits in the alcove and the other half extends into the room. As the 18 inch wall turns around the back wall, there is a head-high, small, storage shelf with 4 hooks under it for hanging towels, long johns, orange jail suits, etc. Then, immediately fitting in the back left corner is the toilet/sink.
The right wall is a straight wall. Centered is an 18 inch square sheet metal table top, no legs, that is welded to metal plates bolted to the wall. In like construction on the far table side is one sheet metal seat. For my liking it could be an inch higher for a more comfortable use of the table top. Above the table centered in the wall is a 4 ' flourescent light sconce. This fixture shines light down the wall into the room and also emits light up the wall and onto the ceiling. At 9:30 p.m. every night this light is cut off from the guards control room. It comes back at 6:00 a.m.
On the back wall about two inches from the ceiling is a four foot long window, but is only 8 inches deep. It has plexiglass on the outside, but on the inside there is a thick wire mesh covering the window opening. No escape there! Can't see much but it does allow for ambient day light.
The cell door is locked at 11 p.m. and is electronically opened at 4:30 a.m. when the razors are delivered for shaving. The door remains open the rest of the day, but I'm comfortable in my own home most of the time.
In a future blog post I will describe the bathroom and shower facilities, as well as the bunk. Another post will tell you the customization and interior decorating I have done to make it my home.
Please stay tuned. It makes me feel like, maybe, some one out there cares, when you let me know you're reading . In that, my time moves faster and I am more productive to others- inside jail and outside. It frees my spirit.
Also, other future posts:
Visitation
Suicide Watch
Phone Calls
Please, I ask that you do all you can do to remove tyranny and persecution, not just in my life, but wherever you see it!
