Texas- Day 1

I arrived in San Antonio late last night and after dealing with the difficulties of renting a vehicle, got to my hotel and caught some much-needed shuteye. I set out early this morning and made my way up I-35 from San Antonio past Austin and on to Marlin, Texas to visit Liz. Traffic was heavy especially considering it was early on a Saturday morning. There really isn't much of a break from SA to Austin in terms of urban development, as it is all built up with only the occasional farm. Moving north past Austin the scenery began to steadily change to rolling hills and mixed agriculture farms, with occasional herds of mixed-breed beef cattle and successful suicidal opposums along the roadside. The scenery is somewhat reminiscent of Ottawa Valley dairy farming areas except that the fields are much larger and there are more "scrub" trees. The scenery changed even more dramatically once I turned east off of I-35 onto the county roads into Marlin. There were a few farms that appeared to be well-kept and prosperous but the majority of houses were bare wood clad and in disrepair. The fields often had piles of dry brush along the fencelines. The small town of Clinton was absolutely devastated - with the majority of buildings boarded up, abandoned, and many were caving in. Marlin itself was also quite a shock. It is obvious that once upon a time Marlin was quite a pretty little place but the economic downturn in rural Texas has definitely taken it's toll on the citizens of this town. Many of the prime commercial buildings in the downtown area are closed, the majority of business seems to occur at the gas stations and a few fast food joints. The place of employment for a majority of people in the Marlin area is the Hobby Unit Women's Prison. With the advent of the Free Trade Agreement many jobs left rural Texas, and other areas. In Texas and other States the "tough-on-crime" spree of the late 80's and 90's took advantage of this situation by locating many of the new prisons in rural areas where there was high unemployment. The former farmers and factory workers became prison guards. The problem is very few people want to be prison guards. It is dangerous, underappreciated, monotonous and low-paying work. But there are few options. Texas currently has approximately 3800 positions open for prison guards. Turnover is high and morale is low. In the past I have been quick to criticize Texas prison guards, but after today's experience suspect I will be much less so. It is not an easy way to earn a living.

The great irony in all of this is that many of the people that live in rural Texas blame the Free Trade agreement for their current situation, and rightly so. What they would probably be surprised to know is that many Canadians feel exactly the same way. Free Trade has been a great success for some portions of the population, but has negatively impacted a large number of others.

When I arrived at the prison they had me open the hood of the SUV and the back door. The problem was I couldn't find the damned latch for either. I explained that it was a rental and they asked me "where are you coming from". When I told them Canada their demeanor seemed to change suddenly and they were much more accommodating.
At the inside guardhouse they checked my passport against Liz' registered visitor's list. There were two female guards there. One asked me "so what was your first impression of Marlin"? The second guard, who seemed to be her superior said, Don't put the guy on the spot like that". But I answered the question anyways. I just told them how we are living in one of the most prosperous times in history yet the money doesn't seem to be evenly distributed, and rural areas are definitely being shortchanged. I left it at that, although I was quite capable of launching into a full rant. Inside they sat me in a booth with a glass face and a piece of crap telephone receiver, while I waited for Liz. When she first arrived she was so nervous she could hardly control her shaking. I was also surprised by hard "edge" that she had about her. That certainly didn't show in her letters, but is more likely related to 10 years of surviving in prison.
We talked for three and a half hours about a wide variety of things, mostly related to her case. It was certainly much easier to talk in person instead of using the postal service and waiting nearly a month to get an answer to a specific question. Although we were slated for a four hour visit, I had to leave half an hour early. I had to use the washroom but couldn't. It was a claustrophobic little closet with a sheet metal toilet affair and I just couldn't "perform". I live in the woods and hate pissing indoors at all, so I just couldn't deal with that. So I had to leave a little early. We are slated for another four hour visit tomorrow, and I will make sure I am empty beforehand.

I am spending the night in Gatesville, Texas about 40 minutes away from Marlin. There are 5 major prisons located here.The lady at the hotel desk told me that there are 16,000 people in Gatesville, and half are prisoners. It is however much more prosperous looking than Marlin.