So it has been far too long since I last updated my blog. A lot has happened in the past two months, including:
Angola Rodeo,
Crawfest,
Stinging caterpillars,
Jazz Fest,
Home rebuilding in the Ninth Ward,
A visit to California.
And of course some interesting stuff at work too which has kept me very busy, so lets blame that for my lack of updates.
I don’t want to rush through all of this, so having given you an idea of what’s to come, let me now tell you about my experience at the ‘Rodeo’.
So, Angola as most of you will know is the name of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (I keep promising to write a blog about the prison itself – it has a very interesting history – but that will just have to wait a bit longer still). Twice a year the prison hosts a Rodeo. The inmates enter the arena to do the traditional bareback riding, bull dogging and barrel racing plus a few additional ‘games’ in which they risk their lives for the chance to win a few bucks against a raging bull. In ‘Convict Poker’ four inmates sit around a table ‘playing poker’ (I can’t imagine terribly well, if at all – they are probably gripping the cards in fear and anticipation of what’s to come, blind to the royal flush before them) when a wild bull is released into the arena. Last man in his seat wins. The game doesn’t last long – the bull instantly heads for the table, and it’s usually a matter of mili-seconds between who leaves the table when. Then there is ‘Guts & Glory’ – a poker chip is tied to the meanest bull of the day – the winner of the event is the first to get the poker chip. It’s the last event of the day, and quite unlike the rest which sees inmates attempting to remain in position if not running away – rather than trying to get close to the raging animal. Another unlikely sight about which I have heard is monkeys attached to sheep dogs, rounding up sheep in the arena… The Deep South is an odd place, Angola is just plain peculiar.
There is more to the event than the rodeo itself. In fact I only stepped in for a few minutes to see the arena over the hours we were on the grounds. I didn’t want to see the dangers the inmates (were practically forced to) volunteer for. At first I thought I had missed the worst of it as on my approach I saw inmates trying to climb on bare-back horses from barrels, until the arena was cleared except for a few inmates and a steaming, eager bull was released upon them. The bull rammed one inmate against the railings, lifted him up with his horns and tossed the man into the air like a mere rag doll, up he flew, and down he fell into a heap. Paramedics were brought in and the body was removed. “Our thoughts are with the inmate” a voice from above said, he wasn’t given a name, not even a number, he was just another entertainer. At that point I promptly left the arena again.
Outside the violence and mayhem inmates had set up stalls to sell various items they had made over the past few months. There were cow hide belts and leather wallets (which I couldn’t help but wonder – was that the last rodeo’s unappreciated bull?), there were silver bracelets, charms and rings, paintings and sketches, plants and rocking chairs, even bbqs! And everything was so carefully and beautifully crafted.
Once you had selected an item to purchase, the inmate selling it wrote you a ticket and put the item aside. You took the ticket to a cashier (a non-inmate) gave them the amount, they marked the ticket and made a note of who the money was to go to and how much of it the warden would receive. With your ‘paid’ stamped ticket you returned to the inmate and retrieved your bought item. “Why the complicated system?” I asked at my first purchase (because in the heat and the hustle and bustle of the day, it seemed unnecessarily and rather inconveniently complicated) “Because money is weapon or a death wish here.” I was told. And too true – many a man had served time for less than each might earn that day!
While most inmates were able to stand by their stall, shake a hand or two and hang out with some visitors. There was one ‘pen’ where inmates of a higher security level were held. Crammed in together in a horse-shoe shaped pen with tables encircling the outside on which their goods were displayed, they ignored the steaming heat as the sun shone down directly on them, and they clambered over and on top of each other, calling out for attention – a kind word, a smile, or if all went well, a sale. Of course I had to buy something from an inmate in the pen. But I chose a beautiful box, carefully crafted so the lid slid apart if you turned it in the right direction and four little pockets came sliding out – for a measly $25 too!
For those not in the pen, the rodeos provide an opportunity to visit with their friends and family without being under the constant watchful eyes of bored guards, and rather than a two hour restriction they could spend the whole day together, eating and chatting. As I approached one stall to look at some jewelry the inmate asked me “What kind of son would I be if I made my mother pay for a necklace after she’s made it all the way up here and spent $10 to come in and see me?” I looked at him, and the older, warn out woman standing beside him holding onto a chain and fleur de lis charm. “The bad kind.” I said.
“Who’s side are you on?” The mother spoke back. “Can’t you help a woman out?”
“He wants to give you a gift,” I told her “You should accept it as such. And tomorrow sneak some money into his prison account, and it wont be like you bought it from him.” Apparently satisfied with this solution, she put the necklace on and smiled at her son.
Apart from all the crafts, the guards and their family were also selling food. Anything and everything you can imagine and more – such as deep fried coke – yes you read that right. Have you ever imagined such a thing? Well I hadn’t and so for your sake alone a bought and tried it. It’s a doughnut batter with coke in it, made into little balls then thrown into a deep fryer and covered with cream – rich and no doubt heavy in calories (the things I do for you) and quite tasty… an experience, the once in a life time sort.
And that’s it for now my friends, unless you have any questions, or I remember something else. Next installment in a few days – crawfest and caterpillars.
