Late last night, as I was standing in front of the mirror brushing
my teeth, another inmate, who I do not speak to very often, was staring at me
through the reflection in the mirror. I paused and asked him what he was
looking at. He said that he was curious about what I had done to receive a life
sentence. That question got me to spit out my toothpaste immediately, turn
around and ask him why he thought I had a life sentence. He claimed that it was
the way I carry myself. I informed him that I had a 16 year long sentence and
that I had five years remaining. He appeared to be surprised by this and
apologized before making a fast exit from the bathroom.
I resumed my tooth brushing detail but began studying myself in
the mirror. I didn’t think that I looked like a ‘lifer’, but then, I couldn’t describe
what a lifer actually looked like. Thinking about my behavior and the way that I
carry myself was also unconvincing. As I left the bathroom, I was in a state of
confusion. Never before had someone assumed that I was in prison for a life
sentence. The very idea of that, was heart stopping.
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