An Average day in Loudoun Adult Detention Center June to August
The Average Day at LADC. June through August
You wake up at 6:30 a.m-7 for breakfast. Every cell has an intercom speaker. You are awakened by an announcement letting you know to get up and breakfast will be coming soon. They will be sny enough to even end their announcement by saying "Thank you for choosing LADC" as if you were on some airline on your own accord. After the announcement, Your doors magnet airlocks will detatch, doors with open. Your bright overhead lights will turn on full blast basically blinding you, hurting your eyes. If you are not downstairs within the next 5 minutes, you will most likely miss breakfast entirely. Other times, you just end up last in line standing in line behind 60-70 other men while you are dead tired because you could not get a wink of sleep the night before because of all the stress, anxiety, and light among other things. If you did not get breakfast, you will starve until lunch.
Trays are prestacked on a cart taller than a man. There are 5 square portions on a tray, plus a slot for a spork. A deputy stands at the door next to a kitchen attendant or two (trustees) as trays are passed out. Before you receive your tray, You must give your name and cell number. and a deputy will check your name off the list. This ensures they are keeping track that you are eating, not getting seconds and folowing any special diet you may be on. For example, they do have "common fare tray" which is basically a vegan tray which I was lucky enough to get on eventually". I will discuss that more in depth another time.
But a REGULAR or common breakfast usually consisted of Barely warm grits in the main portion of the tray, or sometimes tasteless oatmeal, on a good day, cheerios. Every meal included a cake, which was actually pretty good. If you were on meat diet, you might have 2 small sausage on the side. When I was on common fare diet, I usually got 2 spoons worth of peanut butter, or hard boiled eggs. We USE to get fresh fruit like an apple of half an apple or peach, but they stopped that for awhile because too many people got caught making "hooch" fermented fruit drank as alcohol. Eventually, they started to at least give us apple sauce or some kind of container peaches that would be difficult to turn to hooch. Every tray came with these odd pouches of milk. Maybe they were about 6 oz. each. The dificulties with this are, opening them to drink. Some people poke at it with a spork. Eventually the seasoned people learn to just bite and rip off a corner to be able to drink from it. But Too many times, bags would explode onto other bags, making EVERY bag, smell spoiled and contaminated...TOO BAD
People ALWAYS trade items for others. So every single morning, you'd hear somebody yell (keep in mind this is morning when everyone is tired) "HEY I GOT 2 EGGS FOR A CAKE!!!!" or any combination "I GOT 2 MILKS FOR A BANANA!". In my head, i'm just like "STFU!!!!!" I rarely if ever traded food. I just wanted to eat what I could and have a quiet morning. but these young dudes or even old guys would be doing this. EVERY FREAKING DAY!!! Breakfast, lunch and dinner. When everyone is finished eating, you must stack your tray back onto a cart and majority of people went back to sleep. Maybe 2-7 people stay up. usually me and the older folks to clean their cells and shower. Depending who my celly is, I always get up early to shower and clean. Every inmate is "Supposed to clean" their cells every day, and in jail, most did. Prison was different story. We are given a mop, bucket, generic cleaning solution, generic windex, brooms and sponges. Jail made things surprisingly pretty sanitary if you wanted it to be. Prison made it harder and I will surely discuss that when the time comes. Lots of people Race to the mop closet to get a mop head that is fresh and clean. They were cleaned every night.
Random::::On Sundays, we watch nothing but football. Half are Redskin fans, and Half are not. Not a racist thing, but the African American population is by far the loudest. This was even mentioned in a pamphlet when you arrive in prison.
The nurses do not have a clue what they are doing.
Some shower heads spurt water in straight lines as thin as a water fountain. So even though a pod may have 4 or 6 shower stalls, people only use 2, because they are the only ones with decent water flow.
The showers are like pool showers with stall doors but you can see everyone's feet. You have privacy with the exception of a camera mounted on the ceiling which I have questioned multiple times if we are seen naked. Of course they are not allowed to tell me. I have asked a few times. The response I got from an officer was "we can't tell you all our secrets".
Sometimes the water is so scolding hot and you have to do a dance or use your wash cloth to wash your body. There were also endless amounts of "shit flies" I called them. They come up through the drain lines. I'd have to kill about 10 with every shower using the bottom of my flip flop. The water is so hot, your body is red by the time you get out. Burnt my foot one time. Complained to medical about it, but of course by the time they saw me, it had healed. You cannot simply stand under the water it is so hot. There are two buttons you must press. One for hot and one for cold. But it's like neither are any different. You end up pressing both, hoping for the best mixed result. but you have to press them both every 10 seconds as they are timed. So with an average shower, you must press the buttons 20-30 times in a single shower. It was very annoying. Even though the water is scolding hot, you are also extremely cold at the same time because of the drafts below you, and above you in these stalls. It's not like a shower at home where the air stays in the room. It moves away QUICKLY, instantaneously. Everyone brings their clothes, towels, and hygiene in a old used laundry sack thrown over the door way lodged between the door hinges.
Inmates are not allowed to walk around without shirts on. If someone does, than a deputy will buzz the loud overhead intercom, and tell that person to put their shirt on. The soap we are given dries everyone's skin out. I don't even want to think how toxic the chemicals are. It says. " Lisa" on it. I have never heard of that brand. The only shower products we are allowed to buy are V05 and sulfur 8, which does not work for me at all to control my dry skin. We are also allowed Irish Spring soap and ivory soap. I was buying the above mentioned things but I told my parents to stop sending me money. Every 2 weeks I'll be getting indigent shampoo completely brand-less with no ingredients listed. Every Saturday we get what's called "nature's mint" toothpaste and a small security toothbrush, toilet paper, soap and 3 laundry pods.
Between 9 and 9:30 AM is cell inspection and lock out. Inmates lineup in front of their cells as a deputy quickly checks each cell and locks us out of them closing the cell door. They check if our beds are made and check to make sure our vents are not blocked because the vents blow cold air and it's freezing in the cells. They also check our lights are not covered because a secondary light stays on all night long and generally check anything else that we are not supposed to be doing to ourselves. Even inmates with kids cannot hang photos of their family or loved ones on the wall. Sometimes The deputy will quickly look in our property bins under our beds to look for any contraband or too many books. We are only supposed to have 2 Books. This whole process takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
Once all cells have been inspected we are all locked out of ourselves from 9a.m to 11:30 AM. The deputy finishes cells and turns to the 2 small 19" TVs hanging from the balcony. People almost always argue over the TV these days. Monday through Friday, the right TV is put on Telemundo Spanish television even though Spanish-speaking inmates are a small minority maybe 10% of the pod's population or less. On the left TV, the African American population want to watch BET, or Martin and I have no earthly idea why, but they like to watch Prison shows or COPS while in jail!? Meanwhile the white folks and older people want to watch movies. People literally fight over TV! But mostly curse at each other, call names and cause a scene almost breaking into a fight. So mornings are pretty boring as they usually put something dumb on. So I tend to read the paper Washington Post if I can get my hands on it, or if the weather is warm enough I go out to shoot hoops by myself and I have gotten very good at shooting 3 pointers.
Lunch comes at about 11a.m and it's the same kind of process as the morning. You line up at the door, state your name and cell number and so forth. Door's pop open at 11:20 AM and we lock in ourselves at 11:30. If we are not locked down by 11:30 they turn the TV's off as a punishment. People heat up saved food in the clothes dryers, as there are no microwaves. I have to wash and scrub and apply Lubriderm to my face 6 plus times A-day for my psboric dermatitis because they won't let me use head and shoulders, and the Sulfer 8 does not work or help at all. Two inmates died right after release from heroin overdose recently I heard. There is a very good mix of races and body types. I am never the smallest or the skinniest.
Each time we are locked down I tend to read or plot business and invention ideas or listen to the radio or write someone. On occasion, my celly and I will chat but he has been very depressed, as he is worried he is going to get a mandatory 25 years for sexting to a minor who was 13 and attempted to meet up with her for sex. Meanwhile a 21 year old in Maryland had sex with a twelve-year-old and only got 2 months of jail time? I can't wrap my brain around that one anyway.
Doors pop back open at 1:30 PM and we are locked out again from 2 to 4:30 PM. Afternoon lockouts have been boring these days. Not many kind people left in this pod to socialize with. Just young troublemakers that I avoid. But me and 2 or 3 others play regular rummy card game unless there is something good on TV. I never bring notebooks out or my journal as people have no respect for my privacy. Not that I write anything that needs privacy, but still, people will come up to you and ask what you are writing. It it gets very loud during lock out. Sometimes you have to almost scream to the person right in front of you. The dryers are usually broken at least 1 of 3. So those people doing laundry have to coordinate with others to get their stuff in by yelling "dryer number one!" "Washer 3!". These days there are a couple inmates with strange annoying or mannerisms. One guy keeps whistling not even a tune just an annoying whistle. Four people have told him to shut the f__k up. Yet he keeps doing it anyway. Another guy has not showered in many days or even weeks. He once had lice in another pod and now he is with us and everyone can't help but notice how bad he stinks!
Uncontrolled diseases are running rampant and nurses are not giving us proper treatment like for scabies. I used to play it chess, but people keep taking the board into their cells and leaving them there. Oh well. I'm not gonna whine about it. Eventually 2 coolers of water are brought into our pod with no ice and smelling and tasting of chlorine. People don't use the phones much in the morning or noon. It is near impossible to get a phone during the evening. There are 6 phones for 40 plus people at night when everyone is home off work. We are only allowed to get the TV remote 3 to 4 times A-day typically during the time the deputies are closing our doors for each lockout. So it's always a big deal trying to get people to sort of agree on what to watch in a short time before deputy leaves the pod. Hand voting does not work, as jail is no civilized place. People will still wine and complain or worse, cause a scene or actually physically fight over disagreements. One guy even threatened ME because he wanted to watch Twilight. It was fine though because everyone was picking on him later for it.
Doors open at 4:20 PM and lock down at 4:30 PM. If everyone is not locked down by 4:30 tv's go off. This happens often my celly and I chitchat for a few moments before dinner arrives. They pop our doors for us to get our trays and take them back to our cells. Every dinner is consumed in our cells Why? I do not know. Perhaps because shift change is at 6. Evening lock down seems the longest. It feels Long because by this time, I have so many thoughts in my head, and desire to be free. Dinners are most times disappointing and leave you still hungry. They don't put enough food weight on the trays. Then I pass a little more time again by reading or listening to the radio thinking and so forth.
Doors are opened just for a minute to return trays around 6 ish In which my celly and I rotate days doing that chore. Most inmates sleep during lockdowns, but I have never been capable of naps during the day so I stay awake and get to hear my celly Rob snore his ass off. Sometimes it's pretty funny actually. During this lockdown, I write and recieve some letters every few nights.. They come to your door, open your door slot, then proceed to open your mail and they quickly glance at it if not reading a line or two and give it to you. We have another hour till unlock.
Unlock again between 7 and by 7:30p.m Doors are shut and we are locked out. TV channels are changed which means more arguing. If we argue too much they just cut the TV off.. At night lock out we religiously play rummy 5000. This has been a routine for 4 to 5 months straight, never missing A-day. It's a modified version of regular rummy Yet with wilds and jokers. One or two games will last a whole lockout, so it's a great time killer. Most people play Spades, but it leads to fights so I avoid that game. I enjoy rummy 5000 more anyway. Some nights there are good movies on. Mostly weekends. To listen to movies, you have to buy a cheaply made radio which cost the jail 3 dollars, but they charge us $21.95 it's blasphemy. Highway robbery. It's funny when the show 'Empire' is on. The whole pod that is usually loud, goes silent because all the loud people go to watch it. It's like the pod's pacifier.
Fights happen mostly at night when that happens it's immediate lockdown. Otherwise it's all just about passing the time period Tuesdays they are supposed to bring in the bookcart sometimes 2 little book carts but we seem to only get it once maybe twice a month if we are lucky. Fights happen mostly at night when that happens it's immediate lockdown. Otherwise it's all just about passing the time period Tuesdays they are supposed to bring in the bookcart sometimes 2 little book carts but we seem to only get it once maybe twice a month if we are lucky.
Doors open at 9:47 PM locked down for bed at 10 PM. Sunday we locked down early at 9 to shave. I wish we could shave daily. Once a week is not enough and we get nail clippers only once every 2 or 3 weeks, but it's supposed to be every week. I am one of the lucky few that gets Benadryl at night for sleep. So sometimes I'm too tired to write or even read. I tend to try to go right to bed. But the beds are the worst thing for my back. I can only sleep on my sides because of my back pain. Can't sleep on my back nor my chest. We are given only 2 itty bitty blankets to cover ourselves. Both are super thin. Two are a standard ultra thin white bedsheet and then a wool blanket but it's as thin as a wash rag. So I always sleep with my only 2 long sleeve shirts on and a T-shirt, boxers and jail pants. I have been in colder cells. It's not completely unbearable, but I'm sure it will be when it snows in January. Two inmates already moved from the end cells which I am currently in because end cells are the coldest. I have to sleep with my 2nd pair of Jail pants and shirts over my face because it is so bright and cold a second light stays on all night long. I wake up about every 30 to 45 minutes to turn over from pain or my celly wakes me with his snoring. So yeah I miss having a bed. We sleep on gym mats pretty much. Despite my back problems they do not give anyone an extra mat. My buddy here named Tim want to sue this place for medical neglect.
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