An average day on Death Row - by Average Joe

Ahh, the sun shining through my window - freshly brewed coffee smell coming from the kitchen.
A cheerful voice calls out laughingly asking - " Hey sleepy head you gonna stay in bed all morning."
My stomach groans knowing there´s bacon and eggs - with some strawberry jam - being made for me and I´ll soon be tasting ! Nice thoughts huh, yeah, such things are my dreams made of
- but back to reality !

I wake up - roll off my bunk - stretch out to get rid of the kinks or still asleep parts of my body - from the lumps in my mattress. Look about - see the walls - bars across the front of my cell - dimly lit hallway. The scent of a lot of men in a confined space - and the hallway drain - which seems to be backed up again from the smell.
Yeah, everything is still there - which unfortunatly means so am I.

And the day begins at 5:45 - with the sound of breakfast coming on the wing and shouts from the guards and runner rounds of
" Chow Time - Coffee !"

I get up - walk to the door - a food tray is slid in the food slot in the door. A plastic tray - like they used in school for lunch. Take the lid off - 2 cold pancakes - like wise with the oatmeal - some type of syrup and a glob of margarine. Supposed to get an orange - but some genius decided to slice the oranges in half - and send them back all tossed in to a garbage can like container. So, few eat them. Too much chance of germs. I pass on the State coffee. Tastes like crap. Make my own cup from hot water in the sink.

Check the oatmeal - to be sure there´s no foreign objects in it. There usually isn´t here at Union Correctional. But, I still do it out of habit - from when Death Row was at F.S.P. (Florida State Prison). Death Row lived at F.S.P. - until around 1992 - when they opened this new facility at Union Correctional.