We had bananas for breakfast!!! That's a big thing in my world. I keep track of bananas. The fruit truck delivers on Tuesdays (unless there's yet another Monday state holiday), so usually we get one banana each at breakfast on Wednesdays. That's the only chance at a banana we get each week. (The remaining bananas are whisked away to the PDR for staff.)
And the reason bananas are served only at the one breakfast is to save money. Many fewer inmates rise and shine at 5:30 to stumble to the chow hall for grits and toast, but there are those of us who never miss breakfast because of the milk. (Milk is only served at breakfast, and as a small-boned Caucasian woman, I must protect my bone density at all cost.) This morning I traded my white rice for a banana, so I had TWO WHOLE BANANAS! I was in banana hog heaven!
Fresh fruit is a big deal to me every day. I peruse the weekly menu on the bulletin board with a hawk eye. Prison fruit is apples, oranges, an occasional pear in season, and every few months a grapefruit half. I'm always amazed at the fact that the majority of prisoners in my prison do not appreciate fresh fruit. Most much prefer their fruit canned and swimming in heavy syrup to a crisp apple.
Part of the problem is teeth. Good strong teeth, the kind needed for apple munching, are rare. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this comment: "I'd sure like to eat that apple, but I'm afraid it'll break off the teeth I have left. Miss Patty, do you want this?" Bet your booties, I do! Yum! (As long as my teeth hold out….) The other factor is laziness. "I'll eat my orange if you peel it for me." What? Peel your own damn orange, for crying out loud!
Also most prisoners would rather have a cupcake for dessert than a piece of fresh fruit—even if the dry state-made cupcakes leave much to be desired. If the menu lists "gelatin or fruit", you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be jello or canned apples, canned peaches, canned pears, or canned crushed pineapple. Those four are the canned fruit choices. The jello can be plain or the cooks can add the canned fruit. The cooks are also creative and add ingredients like shredded cabbage to green jello. I just haven't gotten used to it. Give me a piece of relatively fresh recognizable fruit that actually saw it's mother tree in the not too distant past.
But today is a good day. I got to eat not one but two bananas for breakfast! Yippee! I can't wait until next Wednesday morning.
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