12 Years 7 Months and FLIES

On September 17, 1996 I was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months, but the flies were not included in the judgment, but let me tell you my friends hundred of thousands of well fed flies are part of my sentence during summer time. As the majority of you I love summer time; I love those long, bright, sunny days, the son energizes me, I feel like gardening, joging, dancing, singing, painting, etc. I just want to hug the world and dance salsa (or merengue, my favorite) with it; however those well-fed flies with nine lives at Coleman-Camp are destroying my summer days; you just can't be outside, because hundred of thousands of them will attack you; when we complain to the authorities; the say that they have the same problem at their homes; I do not know if that is true or not; but one thing I know is that there is just too many flies and I truly believe that the flies here are bigger, fatter and live longer. Sometimes you think that you have killed the fly and she/he turn around and revives itself and once again you kill her/him for the second time and she/he stay still for 1 or 2 minutes and fly again. I hate those flies!!!! and I want to kill them all. I think even animal lovers would be happy killing these flies. There is air conditioning inside our housing units so there is 1 or 2 flies you will need to deal inside your cubicle; and there is air conditioning at my job; but the nightmare is at the dining hall, when it is time to eat, I ask God for strength to deal with the flies; first I must decide whether I go to eat or go to bed hungry; if I do not have anything in my looker or I need something hot I must go. Then I cross the compound from the housing unit to the dining hall as fast as I can (we can not tun in the copound) to avoid the attacking flies in my face, body , etc; and whwn I enter the dining hall, there is a line from the door to the serving line, I must stay in line. For unknow reasons those flies love my hair, I have a long, plentiful, black curly hair that I usually wear loose (I do not tie my hair because i get headache) when those flies start coming to my hair; it truly makes me sick and puts my sanity at risk; the flies get entangled in my hair and all I hear is the zum...zum....zum....zum...zum...of the flies around my ear, I get disturbed and my hands are slapping my head trying to take the flies away and to cover my ears at the same time, it is exasperating!, I do not want to touch the flies with my hands, but there is no other way to take those flies away from my head, at this point I begin to hallucinate and I do not know what I am saying anymore and I ask my friend (the phD prisoner Fi-Fi) "Why do flies like my hair so much"? I do wah my hair everyday, you know that'!! pleas answer me! Tell me why!!" she said:" it is because your hair is so long, black, curly and plentiful that the flies believe that your hair is a nest of their brothers and sisters.I do not know the scientific answer but if she is right or wrong I just choose to tie my hair on the top; then the flies still go to my head but do not entangled themselves and I feel them crawling on my head to my forehead; and at the same time the flies are crawling up and down over my legs, it is summer and I wearing shorts and moisterizer on my legs, since my hands are busy, I can not use my hands to slap the flies from my legs, so I begin to tap my feet (like step dancing) so here I am in the line lloking like a mental hospital patience, taping my feet, slapping my head and mumbling; when I finally reach the serving hot line I do not know what ti ask; I do not eat meat and I see the flies around the food; my mind is uncertain what to do, I am very hungry, there is nothing in my locker and I better get something so I decided on rice and beans, I continue the journey, holding the tray with one hand, the other hand slapping my head and tapping with my feet, I walk through the cold line (salads) I love salads but in summer time I must pass on the salads; even if the salads are covered there are a lot of flies having a good time at the salad bar; so I say no! no! no-thank you no sald for me today!!!, my last option is soup, It is hot and there is noflies on top of the soup; I hope for a good soup; there is only rice and beans on my tray; wow!!! Bingo !!!, creme of brocolli. I love Brocolli, I said to muyself; the day is safe i am going to enjoy the creme of Brocolli soup, I look for a table, there is one empty in the corner; I hurry to that table still tapping my feet and slapping my head; I sit and cover my tray with napkins; at this point the situation is even worse; it is just so gross!!!; the flies are around my hair, my legs, around my face trying to get inside my noise and into my eyes; just violently attacking me. I still try to eat and I get a spoon of rice and beans and when I open my mouth to eat, a fly is trying to get inside my mouth and I feel it on my lips, I get chills on my entire body, I hold the spoon and a fly stops over the rice and beans, then of course I can not longer eat the rice and beans; the soup is still safe and covered and I decide to eat the soup; I am very hungry; I lift the napking to beging to eat the soup and a fly lands in my soup. At this point I am not hungry anymore I feel like vomiting and I can not eat; i say to myself I better leave now, I am about to throw-up so I choose to drink some water and while I am drinking the water a fly stops on my lips and falls into the glass. IT IS OVER !!!!!!! I scream. I jump from the table and run to the track to cry. While I cry I think to write a letter to my judge and tell him about the flies and beg him to let me go to do the 15 months left of my sentence in home confitment; but he will never grants my request, the reality is that the "FLIES" are part of my 12 years 7 months sentence; so much for a first-time non-violent offender. I truly believe that these flies are part of the BOP Re-entry program. if you can handle the flies, you can accomplish anything. I love you all Yraida (Leo). Later today I will write about the questions from my previous article "Keeping Sanity" I see you all later.