PONDERINGS FROM THE ETERNAL NOW #2by Carol Gilbert, O.P. Many of you have asked about my work scene at Alderson. As soon as a person receives medical clearance, a job is assigned. This is a designated work camp and everyone, from the oldest to the youngest, the strongest to the weakest, works. Work can be as simple as polishing a water fountain. My first weeks were spent searching for work so I would not be placed in CDR - Central Dining Room. I applied to laundry, commissary, outside chapel maintenance, cottage maintenance and landscaping. Some jobs are more labor-intensive like landscaping and some can be completed in a few hours with lots of idle time. Pay can range from the minimum $5.25 a month to 12 cents an hour - about $18.00 a month. The exception is UNICOR, the prison industry. The weeks passed and I waited for my name to appear on the daily call-out sheet. The end of October my name appeared - CDR. I groaned and my friends groaned! My attitude was upbeat. This would be a learning experience. OUR WORK DAY:
My first and third day consisted of tables in sections 7 and 8. Between 5 and 8 of us are responsible for wiping off tables after all have eaten, sweeping the floor and wet moping - this is not a large section. My second day was working in the dish room with 3 to 5 of us separating silverware as it came from the machine and stocking it in appropriate containers. Because we are over-run with cockroaches, one was on the look-out as they fell from the ceiling and their babies ran around our work table! During our down time we are allowed no books, magazines, cards, pens, yarn - nothing! We sit! This policy is for every job site but is ignored. The women who leave for GED from 12:00-2:00 p.m. may bring homework or their books to work. If caught with any of the above items, a shot (disciplinary action) can be given. It was not possible for me to live this schedule and remain healthy. The boredom was too much. My work ethic was not appreciated by many of the women as they feared extra work. My friends here were praying for a miracle and one came! Ms. Flack, my new counselor, asked to see me and then couldn't remember why. I shared my pain. She moved me after three days of CDR to cottage maintenance bathrooms. So, five days a week, four of us clean two large bathrooms for 100-125 women. The good news is that when the work is finished, we are free to fill in the hours. My time is spent in prayer, reading, writing letters, walking, listening and knitting hats, mittens and scarves for poor children. In pondering these past two months on work, I keep wondering under what illusion this system operates. I keep telling myself that these people can't actually believe we are working these many hours with so many people.... 7:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m. for most jobs. Addicts are told not to live in denial. Isn't this one of the greatest denials of all? P.S. Mr. Bowling, the head of CDR, tells us an outside firm is coming in next week to fog for cockroaches and then once a month. We shall see! |