Читать книгу Prison Puzzle Pieces - Dave Basham - Страница 19

So, my first problem was what to name these books.

My first idea was to call it "Dingle Berries on a Black Man's Ass." This title would've made perfect sense by the time you finished reading the book, but friends told me it sounded racist. Racism is a subject that will be addressed, but it is not who I am, nor is it my perspective.

Another title was "Stillwater Prison." This could be confusing as there is a prison in Stillwater, Oklahoma too. Also, people from other parts of the country would probably care less about that title. Most people have probably never heard of Stillwater, Minnesota. Those who have heard of it would probably know of it from its' early days of housing members of the James-Younger Gang; Cole, Bob and Jim Younger. I will address some of the history of this institution and some of the stories that get passed around from one generation of officer to another.

Nicknames people called me were possibilities.

An early nickname was "Totally Basham" or just "Totally." It was derived from "totally awesome." This came from my style of being alert to what was going on and not being afraid to do my job.

During my time in the B-West cell block, after it was double bunked, a huge percentage of the offenders that were in segregation were there because of reports that I wrote. An inmate said that I always sent at least one inmate a day to the hole. He said it never failed. That's how "One a Day Basham" came about.

Many knew me as "The Terminator." Some inmates didn't even know me as Basham; they only knew me as the Terminator. This was a top contender, but I believe that title had already been used.

It was later, after I was no longer in double bunking hell that the less sinister nickname of "DaBash" began to evolve. That is how the inmates and officers who knew me well referred to me the last few years. That one almost got the nod.

I was called many other things that would've been totally inappropriate for little kids to see on a book shelf; however now-a-days it's common to hear those words come out of some of our youngster's mouths.

"I Stand Alone" was a strong contender. Considering my propensity for accuracy and telling it exactly like it is, this seemed to be a good fit. No matter what battle I was fighting, whether it was versus an inmate, officer or superior, I could only count on myself. Due to the politics of the place, it would be rare for anyone to go to the mat for anyone other than themselves. By the time you have finished this book, you will understand why. Also, I knew I could never count on certain people backing me up. This is why it was important to always know who was around. What inmate or officer was near and whether they were friend or foe.

In the process of writing these books, when I got to 1000 pages and still had a lot to write, I realized that there were so many little pieces to this puzzling prison environment that "Prison Puzzle Pieces" evolved.