Prison Clothes

 

Prison Clothes

By Paul McCann

 

Hyman lay on the dingy mattress of a steel framed bed looking out behind the bars of a prison cell . The four walls were closing in on him more and more every day. The judge and jury had convicted him and sentenced him to 5 years in prison along with Jack , the driver of the truck, for their part in smuggling and hi-hack a truck loaded with rare expensive French Cognac ,

Four others were convicted and sentenced to a minimum of twenty years in  prison for the special powers act . They pleaded innocent but the judge and jury were not convinced and eventually confessed to a list of crimes from gun running to planting bombs , murder and kidnapping . During the trial Hymn had written a letter in his defence with instructions that it would be opened if he he died during his time in prison .

 The first year of prison life was hard for Hyman coming to terms with being found guilty in a game orchestrated by the hands of thieves. No one believed his story about being robbed and becoming homeless . During the trail their was evidence  of him assaulting a hotel manager and acts of violence that damaged the reception of a hotel . No one spoke for Hyman at the trail and Hyman was regarded as a gand member and sent down for five years . He had to accept the judges decision and tried to fit in to prison life , He made some friends inside and held on to the through of getting released and returning before anyone else to claim his reward . A bag of diamonds underneath the floor of the Irish rail office in Cork . That thought alone kept him company everyday . The small bags of precious stones that was found in Con’s coat pocket were the only diamonds that were known to exist . When they were discovered in Con’s possession Seam and the others were not happy and Con knew he was in big trouble . Nothing had ever come out during the trail the warehouse on Cork and all the other goods that were there inside . Hyman was wondering if a bend cop had said nothing about that and found himself a fortune , He wouldn’t know the answer to that until he was released from  prison . Hyman became part of a prison theatre company and  started rehearsing a play that he wrote along with a few others called Born Innocent . The play was eventually presented before an audience of prisoners and their families just before Christmas .

As Christmas approached there were some other visitors came to the prison to bring goodwill and cheer to the prisoners . One evening a mini-bus arrived with a group of orphan children who called themselves the Good Orphans Christmas Choir . Their were on a mission to bring Christmas Carols inside prisons all over the country . Singing Silent Night .  behind the gates of a prison brought a special message to everyone there inside and the warden invited that experience . Some of the orphans asked the warden nicely not to keep them too long inside .

The warden laughed and said ,

“Are you sure you can’t extend you visit with us for a little longer?”

One of the orphans replied ,

“No thank you Sir .  I have to tell you my Mum has got my dinner on and so I can’t really be staying long .”

Everyone burst out laughing .

Smiling back the warden said ,

“You are all very welcome here and everyone is looking forward to your live performance this evening , The entire prison will be listening and  it’s a real special   treat for all here .“

 

The prison canteen was opened up for the performance to a select group of people and the entire performance would be put over the PA System so that everyone in the prison could hear the orphan children singing Christmas carols  .

While the choir were singing the warden had arranged Christmas gifts for the choir .

To takem with them after the performance . The last carol was sung and thunderous applause rung out from every corner of the prison . Someone dressed up in Santa Clause costume arrived right on cue and presented each orphan child a Christmas gift which was handmade by the prisoners . Before the children left the prison they were asked to come back for a return concert the following year  .

Something precious had happened that evening in the prison .

The orphan children realized there were other people in the world who knew what od loneliness was and could understand the feeling of hurt and rejection . A common ground had been found and a healing came down on many there .  Some of the hardest  criminals were seen to be shedding tears . One of two of the inmates had promised to turn over a new leaf when they were released .  Indeed it was a very special Christmas Eve .

Hyman remembered when he was child and the gifts around the tree . He thought of his parents and even his kids when they all little .After his first marriage dissolved they never bothered with him much . Then he thought about his second marriage and how he wished he could have changed how that also fell apart . He now had time to come to terms with Christmas past and present . He looked at some of the times when he locked himself away at Christmas but this year that meant something completely different .

That evening the orphan children put up some little Christmas decorations around the prison and inspired some of the criminals inside to continue that magic feeling of  Christmas in the prison .

That Christmas was special as some of the inmates wrote little notes for Santa and places them on the doors of their cells.

The warden was presented with the Christmas messages

Dear Santa ,all I want for Christmas is some company and another.

Santa , for Christmas this year I would like a real Tommy Gun .

Santa , For Christmas this year I would like  a set of  the wardens keys please .

 

It was all taken with good cheer and when that first Christmas came for Hyman in prison he felt ok about where he was  . That year the warden did a special thing for all the inmates . He allowed all the prisoners to wear a Christmas tee-shirt and hat for dinner .

 

The first winter had come inside the prison and outside on top of the prison walls e the colour of the snow  looked much whiter that ever before . Hyman read something there about life in the winter .  It was as if he had been lifted above the rooftop of the prison and shown the bigger picture of things . Hyman had found some books that introduced him to meditation and how to relax .

Hyman discovered he could escape the confines of his prison cell by transcending thoughts and tuning into the spiritual energy of peace and love . No one really understood what it was all about however Hyman was able to do his thing without anyone bothering him . Even though the other prisoners thought he was a little odd he was left alone . The thing was Hyman said he had found a spiritual plane where his experience of life had reached a new level of existence that enabled him to accept everything that had happened . He was at peace with himself and everyone else . Hyman looked out from the window of his prison cell at the snow that lay thick on the ground of the prison yard like a white letter delivered by God to touch even the hardest heart with a message of adjustment to life’s changing seasons . This though made adapting to a way of life in prison less difficult and possible to achieve for  Hyman who sat shivering inside his cell clinging on to the steel frame of his single bed . He often thought about when summer would come and how he would run into that secret chamber and walk away with a pocket full of diamonds a richer and much better off man but before that day could come he still had to get through a few more cold winters .

Jack was in the cell next to Hyman and felt a little sorry for Hyman who he realised was just someone who was an innocent man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time .The thing was Jack couldn’t do anything about that situation . He was just hired as a driver for the truck . They had spoken a few times about what had happened .  Lloyd was one of the prison guards  who worked on the cell block were Hyman and Hack were and he enjoyed theatre and became friendly with Hyman who was involved with the prison theatre group . Lloyd enjoyed the play the prisoners put on and encouraged Hyman to do another . Lloyd spoke to Hyman about becoming a catholic and started to pray the rosary every day outside his cell . He also tried to convert Jack as well and was doing novenas for him . At first Jack got angry and hurled abuse at Lloyd which only made Lloyd all the more determined to save Jack from damnation and so he started to read the bible outside his cell every time he was on shift . This went on for about six months and one day he left the bible inside Jacks cell . It lay there for days untouched and one day Jack picked it up and started to read  . A change came over Jack after that day and he started to read the bible every day in his cell .  Then he took the bible with him everywhere . He even started preaching to some of the other prisoners in the exercise yard . Lloyd and Jack were good friends now and Hyman and the theatre group were rehearsing for their second play called , Guilty But Insane . Jack was offered a role in the play as the preacher who visited the prison . 

The chapel on the ground floor was used for the first performance of the play before the warden and the inmates families . In the audience as well were a select number of prisoners chosen because of their recent good behaviour . Two of the prisoners were Sean and Con who were sitting in the front row .

Refreshments were provided for all present .

Jack had the opening lines of the play and Con and Sean could hardly believe their eyes and ears when on opening  night of the performance Jack stood on stage in a pulpit and said

“My fellow inmates remember Jesus came to set the prisoners free , so don’t be bound up in chains , lift up your hands in the air , as ask Jesus to set  you free “

The whole audience erupted in shouting and clapping . 

Lloyd was one of the loudest in the audience cheering . It was a special night in the prison  and the play was a huge success . As Hyman looked around at everyone he thought to himself , yes we are all prisoners in here but my time is almost over and very soon I will be free again . Not so for the four who got 20 years and to make matters worse Sean had killed another prisoner one day and now would be staying for the rest of his life in prison . As the day got closer to Hyman being released he had a meeting with the warden and a legal representative where he asked that the letter he had left would be destroyed and there that day his wish was carried out . The contents of that letter he had written were details about the warehouse in Cork but now that he had survived the 5 years inside he decided not to let the information be made known to the authorities . 

Jim and Con asked to see Hyman before he was released and Hyman agreed but asked Lloyd and the prison Chaplin would be there  as well as Jack because Hyman wanted to share the news about Jack who wanted to enter religious life after he was released . At the meeting there was look of serenity almost saintly on the face of Jack while Hyman had a grin from ear to ear . Jim and Con were in shock about the change they saw in Jack and looked very worried when Hyman spoke about freedom from prison life and all the things he wanted to do and the places he wanted to see . Hyman read between the lines when Jim asked him to not to go to visit his Grandmother because she didn’t know he was in prison . Con also requested that Hyman would look after the car that was stored in a warehouse .

Hyman just shook his head and said .

“Isn’t life full of little miracles . Look at Jack here who would have though that he would become converted to religion behind the bars of a prison . Life is full of surprises , I will treasure some of the things I have seen here for the rest of my life.”

Hyman said his farewell to them and the other friends he had made inside prison . Lloyd’s last words to Hyman was ‘ Don’t come back .“

Shook his hand and thanked him for all he had done .

Within a few days Hyman was back in Cork and with a contact he had made in prison he already had a local buyer for the diamonds. As soon as Hyman had possession of the diamonds the buyer had someone check them out and immediately was prepared to make Hyman an offer for the stones .Hyman only half of them to the buyer and kept the other half because he knew they were worth much more that he was offered . Hyman purchased a new Jaguar from a dealer in Dublin and stashed away the rest of the diamonds behind the headlight of that car .

He went on a drive around Ireland discovery tour before booking a passage for himself and the Jag to England . He drove his car to the ferry and watched as the crew drove it on board for the crossing .  That evening as the ferry left the shore

Hyman looked back at Ireland  and thought to himself ,

I discovered more in Ireland than I had ever hoped find .

 

The End