Okay, so no one wants to go to jail. I'll give you that. Especially someone who grew up a Princess. Yes, that would be me.

Long story short....my husband and I recently were the "guests" of the local county jail for 22 days. We are not violent people, and since I grew up watching movies and TV shows that featured prisons and jails (who didn't?), I was afraid. I was afraid that the other people there would be violent. If that was the case, I didn't feel I would stand a chance. I've never actually been in a physical fight before.

Fortunately, because of the Drug War, ONLY ONE of the women I encountered in the jail seemed capable of violence. Everyone else was kind, considerate, respectful, and peaceful. which made me wonder,

"WHY ARE SO MANY NON-VIOLENT WOMEN JUST LIKE ME IN THIS PLACE?"

None of us did anything to harm anyone else. If we did that, we would have been wearing the striped uniforms instead of the red or orange we actually wore. I wore orange because my original charge is a felony. I looked like Inmate Barbie.

When the drug war ends, I can see us donating all these orange and red uniforms to people who don't have clothes because these uniforms will no longer be necessary in the jail systems. Did you know that the jail receives federal funding for every inmate? So, of course to keep the cashflow coming in, the beds must be kept full, just like a hospital.

How do we do that in this county? Well, we lock eveyone up! That way we can boost the economy by providing jobs to corrections officers, sheriff's officers, local police officers, judges, administrators, and last but not least.......the local attorneys, all of which profit financially from keeping the Drug War alive and well.

But I'm not hear to rant or anything, just to shine a little light on the truth. So off the soapbox for a minute.

So needless to say, I was afraid going into jail. I also couldn't believe the injustice of how I came to be there. Anyway, while I was being booked in, I was asked about religious dietary requirements. I though, "Wow, RLUIPA is alive and well!" That's the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which guarantees the rights of a prisoner of the state to practice the religion of his choice while incarcerated. I asked for a Kosher meal. The officer completing the form said, "That's a big N," meaning No. Oops, first mistake!

Then came the strip search and all my things were taken away from me except my underwear and socks (because they were white), including my stretchy headband. (what was I going to do, hang myself with my headband?) I put on the orange scrubs and orange rubber shoes and followed the correction officer to the next staging area.

Then poison was poured over my head to "delouse" me. These chemicals are toxic, no matter what anyone tells you differently, and for someone like me who avoids toxins, let me tell you...I was sick for 2 days with alternating sweats and chills. It's from the organophosphates which are also found in most other pesticides.

I had to pile my hair on top of my head with the goop still in it and pick up the mat I was to going to be sleeping on, as well as a bag with my "essentials." This included a mat cover, sheet, blanket, tiny towel, short-handled toothbrush, hotel-sized soap, and travel-size toothpaste. These were my only possessions going in.

By this time, it was pretty late (after 10pm) and it was lights-out in the "pod" that was to be my new home. Everyone was in their bunks. One of the other girls in my area, gave me some stuff to wash the goop out of my hair and I went to the shower. The water was scalding hot and I had trouble getting all the goop out of my hair because the water kept burning me so badly. So my first time using the tiny towel, I left hair goop on it. Yuck!

So I climbed into my bunk and cried myself to sleep. I had no idea how long I was going to be there. Our bonds had just been revoked and I knew the court system was backed up. Who knew when I would go up in front of the judge again? I didn't even know what our next step should be. We had been forced to act as our own lawyers since our paid lawyers quit in October. I certainly didn't plan for this.

Until next time.....