to the reader in Zagreb

How did you find this blog and do you know McCord? We are going on a cruise in November and will be stopping in your country to see Dubrovnik. How long have you live in Croatia? you can email me at debiparry100@msn.com if you want to answer me. thanks for reading.

TAYJay

our little cutie...kindergartener....

We went to see Cord on Friday as we just returned from seeing Ashlee in Tennessee and staying a week in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains with 6 kids. Fun times and great Leaf Peeping through the national Park. We haven't seen tay and buds for a while. We are going to try and take Tay in to see Cord this week. (Buds seems to have an aversion to the prison so at this point, we are honoring his wishes and not taking him in for awhile). Thanks for reading.

Jana's Lost letters...

Here are Cord's journal pages from August....

8/28/2010

Saturday...Pretty good day. I got to see both of my kids today. They are so cute. Landon is a handful but he is my little buddy. Tay is getting so big and smart. She starts kindergarten next month. I get back from the visits and it is weird to be back in the section. It's like two different lives. I really just want to go home. It's not fair to my kids to have me in here.

I went out to the yard from 6:30 -7:30 and just walked the track and did push ups. I'm really sick of being in here and doing the same thing over and over all the time. Really would like to start my life again.

8/31/2010

The last few days the TV's have been down in the section and it's been going so slow. It's crazy how much of a time killer TV is. I guess that's good and bad.

We tested today and the tests were easy, tomorrow we do our drill cadence thing instead of on Thursday. I can't wait till it's over. Next track I have to take thinking for a Change and it's from 5-7 p.m. So that's going to take up a majority of my night.

9/20/2010

All right, I made it to Thursday. We had our Drill yesterday and we did okay. We took 1st place! So we won a day off next Monday. It's the first time that section B has won so the whole section was pretty excited.

I finished the tests yesterday and didn't get one question wrong. I signed up to facilitate some classes next track. And on tuesday I go to register for some productive lasses...probably music theory and sports nutrition. they used to show P90X videos but now they do the Insanity ones instead.

Well they got the TVs fixed today. they changed the movie channels to digital so now I'll be able to see them without static.

My celly, Brock Jr. is rolling up his stuff right now. He has court tomorrow so he gets to spend the weekend in A-West (point of the mt prison) Should be good times...

Since we tested yesterday they let us watch movies today. They showed Shawshank redemption. it was crazy how accurate that movie is. the cells and prison life was spot on. then we watched the Natural with Robert Redford. Not a big fan of his, so I snuck upstairs to my bunk and took a nap. I'll write more later.

9-03-2010

Saturday. We bought a movie and popcorn with the HOPE points we had and they showed Balboa, Rocky #6. I have seen it before but it was good so I watched it again. There is a line in there that I liked, He (Rocky) said, "It doesn't matter how hard you can hit, it matters how hard you can take a hit and keep moving forward." There is a guy who is 52, his name is Steve Young, not that Steve Young. But he went to court this week on a burglary case that he has been fighting for almost a year and they offered him two 1-15's run consecutively, so back to back, his expiration date that he is on right now is 2019, so with 30more years added on to that , he would be what around 91??? YIKES> and I'm complaining about 7 more months.

I stayed up kind of late last night, til 12:00 and watched Jimmy Fallon. I like him because he really makes me laugh out loud. He is really really, funny. Well, tomorrow I hope that I get to see my family. It breaks up the week and I enjoy seeming them.

9-6-2010

Monday...Labor day...My mom and dad, jana, Josh and Tay came and saw me. The two hours went really fast.

Tay sat on my lap the whole time and my right leg felt bruised. She kept moving around and bouncing on it. But I'm not complaining. I'm grateful that I get to see her. I really like visits. It gives me a charge for the following week.

WEll the new term starts tomorrow. I have to wake up early and then go register for classes, so I can have a 40 hour productive schedule. I wish they had college instead of these stupid Micky Mouse classes. Although, I did learn alot about my marriage in Saving Marriage. I can apply it to my next "temple Marriage".

I have been using the weights. It's just a bunch of cables, but it's better than nothing. But I'm sore! I thought that I was still in OKAY shape but the pushups and pull up's weren't cutting it. It's good to be sore. I've been been giving my bread away and trading my cakes and cookies and I've lost alot of fat. I have my six pack back and I feel a lot better. Although I do miss the cookie and cake we have daily.

They are showing movies over to the term break and they were showing Armageddon today. I'm not sure why but at the end when Bruce Willis stays back and is talking to his daughter I always tear up and today it wasn't any different. At the end I started tearing up...What IS THIS salty discharge on my cheek? ANyway, I do love that movie even though parts are very cheezy.

Tay said she wants to come pick me up when I get out and then live with forever and ever. They say that your kids aren't going to keep you from coming back to prison....but for me they are a REALLY good reason to CHANGE MY LIFE while I can. more tomorrow....

9/11

Well, it's not tomorrow...it's Saturday. I've been HORRIBLE at writing lately. My track started so I've been Fascilitating (teaching) about 4 classes and I have productive time in the afternoon so now I can work out in the afternoon instead of after dinner when I'm super duper tired.

They moved the crew bosses around and put Bolli in as Motivation crew boss and moved me to work crew boss. Usually they have you on RRG crew boss or work crew boss before they put you on as a Jr. Mentor, so maybe that's in my future. My new Job duties are: I'm in charge of everyone's job and putting them on the Job board. So naturally I took my name off so I don't have a job anymore. Well other than making sure everyone does their job right and on time, etc. There is a lot more responsibility and I have to make more calls on people that I did on motivation. More good times...

My mom, Dad and tay came and saw me today. It was a good surprise as I wasn't expecting it. It's crazy how fast time goes when they are here. Tay is so cute and she can do math now and can read good . (HaHa) Zoolander Joke. Anyway, I came back to my house and watched the US open Tennis match and then some college football and then Nascar.

I've been thinking about how weird life is. I've decided that I would pick a romantic comedy over a horror flick every single time.

I'll pick a Ferrari over a Lambo, I like blondes but usually pick brunettes because blonds intimidate me. I would wear gym pants all day everyday if it were socially acceptable. I've realized that Material things WON't bring me happiness and that relationships are what i Need. My kids come first and they need me in their lives.

I may or may not have a man crush on Brett Faure and I get very angry when the Vikings lose and people try to rub it in my face.

Carrie Underwood is my ideal woman and my Idea of a perfect date is a trip to the movie theatre for a testosterone filled action movie.

I realize all these things can't be had or accomplished in my current state and these are reasons to better myself and to continue to change and challenge myself.

As I celebrate the free country I live in I try to remember all the men and women who fight in the military so I can be free one day!

9/16/2010 Thursday

I have been horrible at writing again. This past week has gone fast. We had MOnday off and the rest of the week went fast. I'm in a good routine now. I facilitate 5 classes now and take Thinking for A Change two times a week for two hours. I was hoping that it would be a little more challenging but then I remember the caliber of people in prison and I will have to go to college when I get out to be challenged.

I received a couple letters this week. Josh sent me a nice letter and also a Minn. Viking's schedule. He wrote "GO PACK!" on it to bust me balls. I also got a letter from Kimberly. SOunds like they have a busy schedule with the new born.

My new job as work crew boss is alot different. I have to sign people in and out as they do their community service hours. Also when people get low on hours, the Senior mentors want me to watch for "Behaviors" that would warrant more hours so we can keep people in hours it makes for more stress on my part but it's still a stupid program. It does make time go by quicker as I'm busy all day.

9-17-2010

Friday. the TV's aren't working again. Well I do have channel 2, 4 and 30. However this aggravates me as the NFL is broadcast on Fox 13. It's annoying that the TV crew works 4 tens so I probably won't have the good channels all weekend. There isn't alot to do when it's the weekend, because it's quiet time til 10:30 and waking up at 5:30 all week, when the weekend hits it's nice to relax. so I was stuck watching the Daily Dish and Good Things Utah this a.m. Talk about a stupid show! It's like a low budget "the View".

I was counting how many days I have left and I'm at 199 today. It will go fast. I got a letter from mom yesterday and she wrote about regional conference and game se some good tips.

OK...are we back in business???? I just typed this whole letter and then it disappeared... It was on my other blog..wierd...

Jana was supposed to update Cord's last letters. She misplaced them somewhere....? I went to Tennessee for 17 days to see daughter, Ashlee, and now am back for a bit. I got a new letter yesterday, so we'll have to update Cord's last letter when we find them.

Cord wants to know if he can be a firefighter if he has a felon? ANYONE??? How about being an attorney? (felons and attorneys fall in the same category?) The answer is: You can NOT be a fireman, but you CAN be an attorney. ha He is wondering if he can get grants to go to school in May when he gets out next spring. I'll have to check into that...

He must be thinking of getting out in 170 days because he is wondering where all his "STUFF" from his other life went to....we will have to ask Steph where she put it all.....?

CORD's JOURNAL

9-29-2010

It's been a while since I wrote. These last couple weeks have been flying by. With the routine I'm in, days go by fast. We have a softball tournament that I'm on. We play the rest of the prison and it's been going good so far we haven't lost yet.

It's like a soap opera here in HOPE. Everyday some new drama happens. I've found that I can either use my power for good or for evil. If there is someone who I don't like, I can put a target on them and I can get them community service hours and then they have to do jobs for me. As "leadership" we all have each other's backs and so it makes for fun and games every day.

I'm glad that the new season of programs have started. I really like "The Defenders". It's a good one. Also, Lonestar, Chase, Modern Family, Fringe, Community, 30 Rock and The good Guys and who could forge about NFL Football (note from editor:.....maybe Cord should become an actor....or a director....after studying so many shows....I'll have to ground him from TV once he's out...he has just traded one addiction for another..altho i will admit TV is a lesser evil? than drugs??? PRAY FOR MCCORD!!!.)

10-4-2010

It's Monday morning and I'm tired. I stayed up til about 1:00 watching Terminator Salvation and then waking up at 5:30 a.m. I'm ready to go back to BED. Last week, I was going to go out to the yard and have a practice soft ball game, but it was cancelled so I didn't go. It was also laundry night so I threw my shirt and pants into the pile and I forgot to check my pockets. Well, at 8:30 p.m.m when they did "stand up count" , I couldn't find my ID. Stand UP count is where we all have to be on our bunks till an officer comes through and they announce STAND UP and we have to get up and hold our ID's and they make sure everyone can stand up for one: that they aren't too beat up or hurt and two: so they can make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and accounted for.

During the day, we have stand up counts at 11:00 a.m.m 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.m Then every hour from 12:00 am to 5 a.m. So if there is an empty bunk they would know someone is trying to escape.

ANyway, so when they announced Count, I start looking for my ID and I get that feeling when you lose your keys or your wallet. The cop walks through and I said I couldn't find my ID . He says okay ...come let "THE BUBBLE" know when you find it. The "BUBBLE" is the guard station out in the hall. It's where the cops are and they monitor the cameras for all 6 sections of this section of the prison

I remembered that I sent out my clothes to laundry and that's the only place it could be. I was sure that it wasn't going to come back in my pants. So the next day at 11:00 count, the lady officer asked where my ID was and told me to bring it down when I found it. Well, I forgot about it and an hour later she calls over the speaker. Parry, come to the door. So I go down and she asks if I found my ID. "No, I sent it out with the laundry, I think." Good one, well your stuck in there." If you get caught without your ID when your out of the section, it's a write up and you get fined $200 and lose your lockdown levels. Lockdown levels depend on how long you have been here and if you stay out of trouble or not. So a "K" level is a 10:00p.m. lockdown adn that's the latest you can stay out of your cell. Well it took me 4 months to get my "K" level so I said I wasn't going to leave the section. Then I remembered I would have a visit this weekend and so I asked if I could go down to intake and get a new ID since I wasn't sure if it would come back anyway. It costs $5 to get a new ID if it breaks or gets lost, so I was just going to get a new one, but she said the guy who does the ID's isn't here today. Apparently there is a 6 month course that the officers have to take and get certified in to be able to use a camera on a computer and print off an ID. HA!

SThursday night the laundry came back and my ID was STILL in my back pocket! Then it made me wonder how clean my clothes really get if my ID stayed in my pocket the whole time....the washer in our section is still broken so I haven't been able to use it since I've been a step 4.

10-5.. TUESDAY

This weekend I got called out to do another UA. I'm getting one about every 3 weeks now. Some people only get one every three months, so I must be on someone's list somewhere. Id on't mind peeing into a cup, actually, I kind of enjoy it. there is nothing like having someone standing over your shoulder when your'e trying to handle business. But the problem i have is that they wake me up at 5:00 a.m. and it was on the weekend so it was my sleep in day.

So then today the lights go on at 5:15 a.m. and they tell everyone that we have t go get a TB shot! I HAT THIS PLACE! They couldn't wait til after breakfast to stick everyone with a needle?

SO the prison has swamp coolers and these big blowers on the ceiling and they turn them on at 9 at night. I like them because it's kind of like a ceiling fan so it blocks alot oft he noise. But it does get really cold at night and I only have a sheet and a blanket that's like an afghan so I get cold at night. I sleep in my sweats.

Another thing is that there are safety lights on all night. They aren't just night lights, they actually cast shadows. So I take my white Hanes T-shirt and fold it up and cover my eyes with it. We had the light burn out last week. And as work crew boss it's my job to put work orders in so they can be fixed. Toilets, the weights, when the TV's dont' work, etc. Well, I didn't put one i for the light because it was so nice sleeping in the dark. You do't realize how nice it is when it's dar.k. well, I guess the cops put a work order in because in two days, they came and put a new 200 Watt light in. It's so bright it's uncomfortable but that's prison for you.

10-7-2010 THURSDAY

Yesterday they put me in as RRG Crew Boss. I get to wake up all weekend and babysit my RRG crew members. They have to scrub the bathrooms three hours every morning, so much for looking forward to weekends. SO, I'm going to try and geto n the motor pool and earn .40 an hour. But at least I'll be able to get out of the section.

I foundout today that the Minn Vikings just traded Randy MOss. So he will be back in purple on Monday night. I'm excited to see what Faure and Moss can do, although I don't receive ESPN on my T and the Morning local news has 5 hours of news every day and don't talk about sports at all.

It's almost Halloween and I'm excited. I'm going to dress up as a convict and I'm going to go trick or treating from cell to cell. Should be fun!

Today there was a confrontation with my buddy, Beeman and Orona. They almost got in a fight in front of the whole section. NOT a good idea, if your'e going to handle business then you should go into the shower where your'e not out on Front street in front of everyone. Well, the Senior Mentor made a "shut down" call on them and more than likely they will both be going on RRG. The crazy thing is, is that if Beeman completes the HOPE program, he gets released December 15, if not then his release date is March 15. IF he goes on RRG, he will be on it for 60 days so that puts him at Dec. 7th, then you need to be a Step 3 in order to graduate and you can get a step every 30 days. So after RRG you start back over at Step 1. So Jan 7th he would get his Step 2 and then Feb 7th he would be able to graduate. So for being stupid and having an argument he possibly will give up 4 months! STUPID. Anyway it's Letterman time and then Jimmy Fallon. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD FIGHT.

10-10-10 SUNDAY

Yesterday Dad Jana and Tay came and saw me. An hour into the visit, all visits were cancelled. They separated the people who live in the upper building and the lower building and then trip searched us and escorted us up to our housing unit.

On our way up, one of the guards who was escorting us said that in the lower building an inmate got his throat slit....SO naturally, we are locked down still. NO showers, no micro, no miniyard. We have to eat in our cells and I'm thinking it's going to be a long lockdown., but thankfully I've got the TV box in my house, so I can watch football. It makes for a long long day if your'e in your cell with nothing to do.

There was an exciting game against Redskins and the packers. ...a nail biter, but I need the Bears and Packers to keep losing.

10-12-2-10

Tuesday

We got off lock down yesterday and it was nice to finally get a shower. Id on't like lock downs, they get everyone stir crazy.

Well, today we had tribunals for Beeman and Orona and they received RRG, so now there is 4 people on my crew. I really don't like babysitting grown men; If people on the street saw what RRG members had to do they would be asking what IS GOING ON IN THERE???

SO instead of getting out before Christmas, Beeman will be getting out around February. It's weird, they had to take all of their commissary and their TV's CD players . We had to go to the property closet and put all of it in there. They can't go out of the section without an escort. I've always wanted to be an escort....

10-17-2010 SUNDAY

It's Sunday and the Vikings just won over the Cowboys. It's little things that make me happy in here and when the Vikings win, it's one of them.

It's mid October and it's my favorite time of year. You have football Saturday and Sunday and now it's the playoffs in basketball and the S.F. Giants are in the National league championship. Although it does create re-runs in my usual programming.

Not really anything happening the last week. Just excited to get another week over with. It's going fast but I have to be careful not to look too far ahead as it makes it seem like it's not going fast enough. I think the last time I checked I had 175 days left and that still seems like a long time. So I have broken it down into 2 month blocks and I only have 3 blocks left. October and November, December and January, and February and March...then I'm out of here!

I try to stay positive in spite of my atmosphere. Alot of guys have a lot of time and they don't really care to get out. Why wouldnt' you want your Freedom???I hate not being able to get on the internet to see NFL scores and it drives me nuts when I see an actor that I recognize and I can't look to see what else they have played in. I really want to go to a dark movie theatre and get a Giant 7 dollar Dr. Pepper. I want to be able to see my kids and actually interact and play with them and read them stories before they go to bed. That's not TOO much to ask , is it?

DId anyone Miss Cord's update? More to come...stay tuned...