Freckles' Long Bus Ride

When people are not a medical risk, as I was deemed (although my doc never saw me), transportation upon release of prison does not usually include a quick flight home. This week, Freckles gives us some insight into what her travel was like as she had to leave FMC Carswell and check into her halfway house:

Do people really still ride the Greyhound bus? Well, the answer is surprisingly "yes" and it is the BOP's preferred mode of transportation. Being a "travel snob" you can imagine mine and the family's reaction when I was told I was being sent home on a 25 hour bus journey.  Your family can buy you a plane ticket, which was what my family was going to do and we were all prepared to go through with the ticketing, when I realized this too is also a big "ordeal" with the BOP and I could picture things going extremely wrong. Especially because my airline ticket would be in my married name which all my identification is in, but I was incarcerated under my maiden name - so try explaining that to anyone. I had a hard enough time self surrendering with my ID in a different name than was on their "list" of daily arrivals. 

So anyways, on with the story.  I did the RDAP program at the institution which amazingly enough taught me a lot about myself, the first being I'm an extremely entitled beotch. So why not use some of these "tools" and start applying them to real life which I was about to be reintroduced to.  After much debate and discussion with my family (who was still resisting), I decided to choose the Greyhound as my mode of transportation back home. After all, I survived in a federal prison for the past year, how much worse could a Greyhound bus ride be? And it got me out of the institution a day early - since your halfway house date is the date you arrive at the HH, not the day you leave the institution, so the 25 hour journey let me leave a day early.

I was the only person leaving the institution at my specific time so it was an amazingly quick trip thru R&D and now out the front gates. A walk which is filled with emotions, people waving at you and hooting and hollering and the guards smirking and reminding you that based on the statistics you probably will be back. I just smiled at them and let them think whatever they wanted, "fly under the radar" as my boss always told me. No need to make waves now.  

The town driver, who is an inmate from the camp, picked me up in a small compact car and off we went. I was amazed how large the base was and it is basically a "town" within itself, own gas stations, stores, housing etc.....but we were now leaving the base and off to the downtown bus station. The town driver took me to the counter, spoke with the ticketing agent and within minutes I had my one way ticket out of Texas - wooohooo - was never so happy to be dumped at a bus station with a huge bag of my personal possessions and some cash and a debit card. The institution provides you cash for meals and a cab ride to the HH when you get to your destination and then the money on your "books" is turned into a debit card. 

 I walked about 5 blocks in the 100 degree heat (it was August in Texas) and got some "essentials" for the ride. Some bottled water, real fruit juices and healthy snacks. The attendant asked me if I wanted cigarettes, apparently that is their largest seller with the inmates leaving prison, and I with my bags and "deer in the headlights" look, screamed federal inmate.

The station where I originated was not bad, but let me tell you, our first stop was Dallas and it was horrifying. I walked about a block to a McDonald's to just get away from the station. This walk was filled with bums, prostitutes and drunks (mind you it's still daytime), singing to me and asking me if they could come with me. Wow, pre-prison Freckles would have grabbed the first cab to DFW airport and caught a plane home. But the lesson of humility set in once again, and I was polite to everyone and held my head high with confidence. I survived in prison, I can survive this trek.

The rest of the ride was interesting. I did meet some characters who helped pass the time and told me of their stories and how they came upon the bus. One lady originated in California and was heading to one of the Carolina's to see her high school friends. She was an "inspiring" actress, unfortunately about 20 years past her prime. I stared out the window and watched the sights, this was really happening. It was a full moon that night, which made for great scenery too. On our next stop - we had the police enter the bus with drug sniffing dogs and question all of us and then we evacuated the bus and they brought the dogs in. Nothing was found - but apparently on one of the stops before I boarded, there were two people removed from the bus and arrested for drugs. 

In the middle of the night we stopped and had to pick up passengers from a bus that broke down in the middle of nowhere and had been stranded for 8 hours (thank goodness it wasn't my bus) - so I now had to share my "row" with a teenage girl traveling with her mom and brother. Another sad story of a kid who had been on the bus for over a day and smelt like she had not changed or taken a shower. But again, I chatted with her and shared some of my snacks with her and helped the time go by for both of us. 

I eventually did fall asleep. Most of the stops are just pick up and drop off spots in the middle of nowhere, some are large stations with everything from food to souvenir shops and some are at gas stations, so look at your itinerary because you have to plan your meals accordingly since some stops you do not even leave the bus. Our driver was very helpful and basically mapped out his entire shift with us and gave us the "Greyhound for dummies" breakdown. 

After some bus changes in the larger hubs, I was almost home. Crossing the state line into my state was exhilarating, I wanted to scream stop the bus and take a picture of me in front of it - realizing I had no camera, no phone, no nothing - so I guess I'd just put this image in my mind of pictures that is pretty full from prison, but some lasting memories I will never forget. I was met at the bus station by my family (including my dog), with a malt (something I had been craving) and a gyro.

All in all - the bus ride is not bad. As with anything, it is what you make of it. My 25 hour journey could've been horrifying (like the "3 hour tour" on Gilligan's Island) or somewhat enjoyable - which for me it was. Appreciate the small things that before I took for granted, which now I embrace.

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I'm so glad that Freckles has chosen to share her journeys with us all. They add so much to my own so that those who will follow us can be ready for the vast differences that can possibly come their way. Truth is that even when the moment seems so bad, the moment passes and they get better. There were times that I'm sure Freckles questioned why she didn't just have her parents purchase her a flight home, but those moments were fleeting and passed by. Eventually we are able to move past even the hardest of times. I could never imagine that my life eight months from my release could be as good as it is today, but it is. Freckles' life is good too. We do it one day at a time.