by Madeline Laughs
I’m sitting in the waiting area. I have to be onsite because I’m supervisory status and I have a partial team finishing up inside. It’s the beginning of visiting hours.
The room across from me is Video Visitation. I’m watching people come and go. Two ladies walk in. They check in at the desk. One of them is having a hard time walking in her high heeled flip flops. They’re Mexican, so it’s a struggle for the guard to understand what they want to do.
Finally they get admission to the Video Visitation room.
Another woman walks in.
I say woman, but she’s tried very hard to dress like a man. She’s wearing a man’s sized polo shirt, short sleeved, with another long sleeved teeshirt underneath. Her pants are too big and look like a man’s work pants and she’s wearing high topped work boots. She’s older. Her hair is completely gray with some black streaks here and there. It’s cut in a long mullet, short on top, long in the back.
I can tell she’s never been in a place like this before. I can feel her anxiety and I can see her embarrassment. She isn’t sure which window to go to or who she should give her money to. She’s come to bail someone out. Finally after nervous laughter and many questions, she settles into the chair next to me. I guess out of all the other chairs the one next to me looked the safest. Continue reading
