GH and and various jobs.

Going to work at GH was a experience that stuck with me for the rest of my career. My job title for most of my career has been "resource pool" or sometimes called "miscellaneous". I soon discovered it was better for me not knowing what I would have to do when I got to work. That way I couldn't dwell on it over night. GH had well over 2000 inmates and was like a city behind walls. There were a lot of different jobs and many of them were very chaotic. So not knowing what was in store would free me of thinking about what I had to do and how I would do it until I actually got to work. I tried to stick with that concept most of my career. They do occasionally have to assign you to an off shift. So those days I would know. Years later I fell off from following this rule I made for myself and would check the day prior. It was good and it was bad. If I found I was going to be extra, it was good. If I found I had to go chop trees down I didn't care for it. Doing this may have caused me to "Bang in" sick a few extra times. One other positive thing about Resource pool jobs is you do something different most every day. CO's have for the most part a very boring job which occasionally goes from boredom to Chaos, real quick!! One of the worse jobs which would come up from time to time would be Funeral trips. Me and another Officer would take an Inmate down to some of the worse neighborhoods in the city. It was an one hour stop but was always tense. Not many CO's want to do this. Some will if on OT. I was never that lucky for a 10 hour OT for a funeral visit. I guess I could have had this job in my "shocking" section. Who would have known they routinely take Inmates to funeral visits. When I got to the Minimum security jail, it was always a decision to decide whether you would take the cuffs and leg irons off him so he could sit with his family and grieve. It was left up to the Officers but could be denied by higher management. I think of all the ones I had, and it was quite a few, we took the stuff off on every one. Never had a incident. I mean these guy in the minimum had no wall or fence to keep them from leaving the place, and plenty of time to do so. The rarely ever did. So the decision fell on the Senior Officer which I was a few times and we took the chance. Didn't make much since but after the hour we'd shackle him back up and drive back to the jail. But this always made me uneasy. I hated going after a while. Well I jumped right out of GH for on that one. So let me pull myself back in. For a two week stint I was assigned this job picking garbage along the outside of the cell blocks. I had what was called the In-grade gang. I took 4-5 Inmates and walked around the outside of the blocks picking garbage. After a few days of this I was getting pretty bored. This job was funny in a couple of ways. Luckily I was young. I ran a company of of H block to chow which for some reason at their meals on the opposite side of the jail. So after doing the count in "H" block, Off I'd march them down the halls to breakfast and then back over and lock them in. I'd do what they call a "GO around" which consisted of asking them if they wanted the yard or stay in that sort of thing. Then clear over to the other side to "B" block to gather the workers and once gathered head back toward "H" block to get tools from the closet where they kept the tools for the gang. Then outside to various area picking garbage. Once done back to the closet and back to "B" block and then I'd walk all the way back over to "H" block and run the lunch meal and do the count. Only to repeat this in the afternoon. Lots of walking and I wondered why anyone would bid that job. Luckily I had it just two weeks. While working this detail I asked the Sgt. if I could get permission to take a couple of them into the Attics and pick up garbage that I knew had accumulated over the years. Which they did grant me permission to do so. I'd take just two Inmates up and pick garbage. I knew there was lots of garbage up there due to working the yard roof post. After that they asked me to go down in the Morgue and pick up garbage down there which I did. Under GH is a series of underground tunnels connecting the blocks. They run the plumping and wiring that sort of thing. So while at GH I was just about in every corner and nook in the place. Even up in the area where they kept the electric chair although I was not allowed through the door where it sat. So I never saw the chair. We cleaned the area where the Inmates that were going to use the chair resided until the day came. If I remember correctly it was called the death house. From the biggest auto collision repair shop I'd ever seen to the Morgue, to the death house the Inside theater etc... while at GH I saw just about everything. That's enough for the day time for dinner....