Day 55 - 8/16/21 - Mon.
- mainemoviepirate
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Journal Entry:
“Around 2:30 AM, I went to the bathroom and neglected to unplug my leg from the wall. I thought it just unplugged from the leg jack, but the cord actually separated and was hanging out the back of my leg when I got up at 5:30 AM. JaySISH. It isn't like I've got extra cords like at home. Looking at it, I guess it just separated at the blinking charge indicator section, but the cord has been tenuous lately. Hard to tell if it still works. Guess I’ll find out tonight or tomorrow. It appears to be charging, so we’ll see. Took meds, HLR drink, thought about watching the news but opted for the common area to write instead. Skipping rock hard breakfast!
Back to the Old World—This World—Next World thing: If I accept my five-year sentence, I think I’ll be far more productive. I’m not saying give up legally, just the opposite—keep learning the appeal process, digging into the ‘other case’ when I can, and learning more about general laws, like preparing for a movie I’m making, but not emotionally tied to its completion or, in more accurate words, getting out of prison early. Plus, I’ll get more done on the writing front.
Got some random ideas* this morning.
After my morning shift and lunch, I’m going to tackle Walking Distance. I’ve got a pretty good middle-attempt scene cooking, like if he hitchhikes to Worcester—possible suspense building to nothing.
LUNCH: Tacos, made out of a turkey burger, which I’m assuming was left over from Wednesday lunch (probably), black beans (ate some), creamed corn (ate all), Orange, which went into reserve.
Back to the Johnny and Doug Lunch-time team. Working on WD, hope to finish the rough draft tomorrow. Read S.K. book, a few BDNs. Got like seven in the mail today.
SUPPER: Spaghetti, spinach, garlic (hot dog roll) bread, clump of hamburger or something like it. Cut off two hamburger slices and put them with the roll in reserve.
Got emails from Mom and T., and a card from my Aunt R.R. That’s number three; I’ll do letters back tomorrow. Answered Mom and T.’s email. In T.’s world, M. did her first potty, and Sophia (the Dog) tried to eat it. Sounds like her. That dog would eat anything. I told T. about the Service Dog Program here and that I actually like many aspects of it, and I was thinking about staying. But the absolute best news of the day was that Professor Lawrence Lessig answered one of my emails I sent him before self-surrendering, and he replied on July 11! Jeesh, got to act fast. Still processing it.
*PDFU Idea: Start watching every movie they watch here every night. Do a 200-word review on it (basically the same length as one of the journal entries), then when I get out, just plug the reviews in the regular PDFU format. Use the Backstory element to tell how it’s not in PDFU. Okay, a little lame, but it’s something to work on. If I fill one of these notebooks, that’s 80 pages, two is 160, etc. I’ll give it a try. Why not? Practice.
TO DO: Call Steve—Appeal—Contact—Next Week. T.—Names, dates, edit anything you want, pictures.”
Notes for Day 55 (Four Years Later)
The first thing I noticed about this entry was that I was starting to accept the fact that I was going to be in prison for the entire five-year sentence (minus the traditional 15% for good behavior). This, of course, was long before learning about the much-delayed First Step Act. And while I knew about RDAP, I didn’t think I qualified because my case wasn’t drug-related, and I didn’t really have a drug problem (or so I thought). I was beginning to see all the positive or potentially positive sides of being there.
Next: A little about Walking Distance, a story that was very difficult for me to write while in the SHU, just because it was highly emotional and added to the depression I experienced in there. Once in the camp, that changed. Also, it is the first story I wrote in pieces, jumping around the linear flow. It was a way, initially, to avoid the emotional parts and yet keep moving forward with the story construction. Now, I see it as a way, possibly, to overcome writer’s block on future stories.
Lastly, right before entering prison, I sent an email to Professor Lawrence Lessig, who is a renowned Copyright expert, had testified as one in many proceedings, and was even involved in the United States Congress’s two failed attempts to fix the Orphan Works Problem, which was a centerpiece of my defense (or at least should have been).
That’s why, when I learned he answered my email two months earlier, I was floored and desperate to start communicating with him. But what I came to realize is that a lot of the potential defense of the copyright aspect of my case was far too late at that point. And while I can partially blame my lawyer (that is another story), most of it was really on me. If I had studied Copyright law and tried to contact various experts half as much in the four years before my indictment as I did in my two and a half years I was incarcerated, the outcome of my trial would, or possibly would have been, entirely different. I know my own testimony would have—that is for certain. But we can only live in one direction, and there is no sense in dwelling on that particular water under the bridge... Unless, my next motion is successful and I get another crack at it. 😉
