20 May 04

The news reported hue and cry outside of the jailhouse on Saturday morning - a public protest about the conditions. Sheriff Joe Arpaio's swift response was to have us served with tasty mashed potatoes instead of the usual rotten potato peelings. On Sunday night, we actually received a scoop of ice cream. Unfortunately, the ice cream was served on top of warm cabbage, transmuting it into cabbage soup. Anyhow, we appreciated the gesture, and we are still receiving mashed potatoes - but for how long?

The daily temperature highs are in excess of a hundred degrees and rising. The air is stale and debilitating. On Monday, an inmate told a guard he felt ill and requested medical treatment. The guard told him to drink plenty of water and to lie down. The inmate persisted, stating he was a diabetic and he really needed to see a doctor, but the guard continued to fob him off. On Monday night, the inmate slipped into a coma and was rushed to the hospital. He has not been seen since.

Frankie paid Yum-Yum's $225 bond. Before Yum-Yum departed, I learned he has "fifty wigs at home," and that he had been arrested when the police forced their way into a hotel bathroom: “I was tweaked out o' my mind and gettin' fucked by my friend." Sadly, Frankie did not land a cell with Yum-Yum, but his investment will probably enhance his reputation among prison transsexuals.

I was awoken this morning by a small cockroach heading toward my face up my arm.

Mark still refuses to eat the jail food. He had a nightmare about giant cockroaches dressed in guard uniforms chaining him to a bunk and force-feeding him red death.