The Wood Shop (Taylor)

 Written 6/4/2024

All,

I took a 13th Amendment Job in the woodshop today to pass the time and learn some new skills.  Today I got to work with Drill Guns, a planer, a jointer, table saw, belt sand and circular sander...all in one day.  The woodshop makes American Flag plaques and challenge coin holders for retiring C.O.'s around the country.  They also fix cabinets, chairs, and pretty much anything else dealing with wood.  It's nice because I am in the woodshop with 2 other Jaysixers, we are pretty busy working, but it was nice to be around those guys.  The C.O. over the woodshop is really cool and supportive.  I will be doing less walking now, today after Woodshop I only got about 5.4 miles in before count.  It's starting to get warm and humid.  The weather here reminds me a lot of Brazil.  It is humid, when it rains, it rains really hard, and the rain isn't really cold like it is in Seattle.  When storm systems roll in they usually only last 1/2 day or even faster.  I am accustomed to the Seattle area, when weather systems roll in there, they last for days coming of the Pacific ocean like they do.  When it rains, it often rains or drizzles for days.  I haven't seen anything like that here.  

One of our Jaysixers went home this morning (or more accurately to a 1/2 way house).  He had a 2 year sentence, with first step and 2nd chance act he ended up dong I think 16 months.  (It would have been less but he was in the hole for 127 days and lost good time due to an email he sent that ruffled feathers).  I will miss him, he was a Lt. Colonel in the US Air Force and flew A-10 warthog planes on multiple deployments in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.  He was in active combat a lot and had great stories.  He also had a Political Science degree with a minor in International Studies and Military Science...the exact same degrees I have, even the minors.  He and I took very different paths...but ultimately ended up in the same place, lol.  I only knew him the short time I was here, but he looked out for me when I got here and helped soften the landing.  He was the first one here, and did the same for the others when they arrived.  It just goes to show the extremely diverse backgrounds of people involved in the jaysix incident.  There is a shared trauma bond, and we helped each other find purpose and meaning in all this.  

I sometimes am overwhelmed when I think about the duration of time I 'might' end up being here.  The gentlemen who left this morning filed an appeal and WON, his appeal is what reduced my guidelines from 109-135 down to 70-87 (of which I got 87 months).  His appeal is also applicable to my current sentence should we appeal.

Last night we asked him what he learned while he was here, anything good he took from his time.  He said he loves this country, and while there is a lot of hurt being prosecuted by your own country, he shared some intimate things that only someone going through this can truly understand and I can't really share here...BUT, please be cognizant each one of you have a role to play...Your vote matters, your energy matters, there are undecided voters who we all know.  I know I probably preach to the choir a little here, but don't underestimate your ability to make a difference.  My recommendation is to listen to the candidates themselves, and not what people say about them, encourage others to do the same.   

I love yawl,

Taylor