The Fork

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37247797


This is my first chapter in the Prison Chronicles Project. These short comics are based on my work at the women's prison. They are a mixture of reflexive writing, stories from the women and experiences. I hope you enjoy!

When is enough enough?

Today I spent most of the day at a maximum security prison for men. I was part of a larger group of people including both people from the outside and inside. Prior to the meeting of our group there was a death in the "yard". A man who was born in 1945, the same year as my father died of a heart attack. He died right there in front of thousands of men. He had a life sentence so in many ways his death was a release. This kind of death, this release from suffering is difficult to digest and absorb.
A few hours after this man died we were sitting knee to knee mulling over a scenario about Malcolm "X". One man in our group told us a moving story about the day after he was arrested. He had not prayed to God in years, but felt compelled to say something to his lord. He said he couldn't ask for forgiveness or relief, but that it felt productive just to pray.

Another man in our group spoke--he was sitting next to me. He said with his eyes and words, "I used to believe in that stuff, but now... I just can't make my life make sense? How can all of this have meaning? How can it be ordained for me to spend my life rotting in this hellhole? My suffering will never end. This will never end."

When is enough enough? How many pounds of flesh is adequate when you have taken another person's life?

I can't imagine that something so terrible as prison life would never end.

How much is a car really worth?

This week I have cruised from one snowy car lot to the next trying to convince myself that I don't really need a mini-van. Most of the salesmen (yes, men) I have encountered are a bit to coiffed for my taste, a little too eager to make jokes, shake my hand, and call me repeatedly on my cell phone. I did meet one nice fellow, he was older and had three kids. No pressure and very down to earth--a rarity in the autolot world. After sitting down with him, and learning that my current car a cute little paid for Rav 4 was only worth about 3500 I nearly fell out of my chair.

The new used car I was considering is a Toyota Sienna Mini-van. No frills no AWD. It was going to cost nearly 7 times what my current car is worth. How is that possible???? Now that I have a debt-free life I just can't swallow 300 per month for a car payment over the next five years. Steve Parker, a journalist said in a post from October of last year that nearly 25 billion dollars worth of consumer auto loans are delinquent. When did a car begin to cost more than a house? My first house cost 24,000. It had a huge yard, a basement and two bedrooms. Yes it was older, yes it was in a small town, but still it was going to hold its value and remain part of the landscape for probably another 100 years if not longer. How can a car cost that much?
It costs about 2100 in unionized labor per car -that is roughly 30 hours of labor (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_labor_cost_to_build_a_new_car). Dealers make about a 20% profit on each new car. I cant' imagine what car companies are making. There is some small radical ridiculous part of me that thinks we should go back to the days of horses and buggies!