![]() ![]() Our best teachers are the families in our support group. ![]() Longer than 48 hours, we decide whether to call the cops and file a Missing Persons report. ![]() If no one in the family, including his mother and brother, hears anything for 24 hours, we check his place. Instead of instant panic over unanswered emails and phone calls, we can wait. Last week, Jerry drove to Santa Rita, waited his turn, got all the way to the Mental Health unit, but Daniel wouldn’t see him. That was tall, long-legged Daniel, watching a ball game with Jerry, leaping, whooping to high-five the ceiling when his team scored. “Look up,” I said, pointing to fingerprints streaked across the ceiling. When we married, my friends brought a house-warming gift and asked me what it’s like to be a stepmother. He breaks out every time there’s trouble with Daniel. He licks his lower lip, frowning, pulls out his handkerchief, blotting a crusty cold sore. He grins, pointing to the cover shot, a pair of quarterbacks caught in mid-air chase. Jerry drops my hand, pats his jacket pocket, pulls out the sports page he grabbed just before we left. Our ramp cuts through the middle, leading up to the entrance: an arched, white portico flanked by uniformed guards. Stadium lights on thin poles have been planted amid clusters of dark-red plum trees. This place looks like a suburban cinema multiplex surrounded by walls of salmon pink and neat, tiered lawns of emerald green. Judge offered time in a group home, but Daniel said no. Off his meds, Daniel went to a bar, got spooked, and lost his temper. Not so for Daniel, son of Jerry (both pseudonyms), in November 2007. Some served time on weekends so they could hold on to their day jobs. I know women who spent time here years ago, political activists, arrested for protesting the Vietnam War. Visitors: Be there early or miss the first cutoff. Visiting hours on Saturday for units 1–4: 8 to 11 a.m. Santa Rita Jail, aka the Greystone Hotel, is “considered a ‘mega-jail’ and ranks as the third largest facility in California.” It is further distinguished as the first jail in the country to build its own smart grid. Moving in closer, we line up on the long, broad walkway, bordered on both sides by curved railings and blue garbage cans. Warming Jerry’s right hand in my left, his rough, calloused fingers laced between mine. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |