Tag Archives: quarantine

law, Reality TV, true crime

I just binge watched season 7 of 60 Days In. It might be the best of the whole series…

Earlier this morning, I reposted a blog article I wrote in January 2018, when I discovered A&E’s reality TV show, 60 Days In. I suspect I was bored one day, flipping through Apple TV, and noticed what looked like an interesting concept for a television program. I binge watched the first couple of seasons and continued to watch somewhat faithfully, until COVID-19 struck.

To be honest, I initially found the concept of the show kind of baffling. As I wrote in my first post on this topic, I don’t know what in the world would compel someone to volunteer for jail for two months. I later found out that the participants are paid to do their time, where they are supposedly treated like everyone else is. The object is for the contestants to blend in at the jail and tell sheriffs what’s wrong in their facilities and offer them a chance to make changes. I do see the value in doing that, but I also wonder how in the world they can hope to keep the participants’ identities under cover when there are camera crews following them around. Plus, some of the real inmates were interviewed on camera. How could they not know that the jail was participating on 60 Days In?

A video showing footage that wasn’t on 60 Days In.

I’ve now watched seven seasons of 60 Days In, and I think season 7 was probably among the best of the lot. Why? Because this time, the show was shot at the jail in Henry County, Georgia, and each of the participants had previously done time. In prior seasons, the participants were mostly people who had no actual experience in jails or prisons, and it showed. Most of them were too “pretty” for the job– they weren’t trusted by the other inmates. But in season 7, the participants didn’t have that “TV ready” look, and they were able to act much more convincingly as they interacted with people who were legitimately in jail.

Another reason why season 7 was especially interesting to me is that it was shot during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which started in March 2020. It’s now May 2023, and the World Health Organization has just declared the global health emergency “over”, although I understand people are still getting COVID and some are still dying from it. I had a feeling the emergency would end in 2 or 3 years, because historically, that’s how long a lot of global health emergencies seem to last. A lot of cynical people are saying that the pandemic was all a sham. They are not people who have studied public health. I am someone who has studied public health extensively, so this news is neither shocking, nor am I feeling like I was tricked. COVID-19 was– and still is– a very real thing. It has nothing to do with politics, particularly involving Donald Trump. If this were about American politics, there wouldn’t be people in Germany still wearing masks just to be able to see their doctors in their doctors’ offices.

Because of the pandemic, there were some unusual rules in place at the jail. Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett, who seems to perpetually sport a bow tie, had implemented some pretty tough conditions for the inmates. New arrivals were locked down for fourteen days in tiny cells with their bunkies, with only one hour outside of the cell every day. That hour was to be used taking showers, calling family on video kiosks, and getting very brief exercise. The rest of the time, they were stuck in their cells, basically listening to people go insane.

As more than one “inmate” pointed out, the conditions in the jail were disgusting. The cells themselves were filthy. One inmate said there were pubic hairs that weren’t his all over his mattress. Another complained about being forced to wear the same unwashed jumpsuit for a month. One time, there was a flood in the jail, and there was raw sewage all over the floor with no means of cleaning up the mess properly.

One of the women spoke of only getting a couple of maxi pads for dealing with her menstrual flow. I could certainly empathize with that. My own periods seem to finally be on hiatus now, but there’s no way a healthy woman with normal periods can deal with regular menstrual flow in a hygienic way with only a couple of pads. Never mind the women who bleed heavily. The lack of feminine hygiene protection seems especially dangerous from a public health standpoint, as a lot of chronic and/or fatal diseases are spread via blood.

Inmates had medical face masks to wear, but it didn’t appear that they were changed on a regular basis, nor were they worn properly. Several inmates wore them under their noses or chins. One of the show participants showed how the metal wire in the masks could be used as weapons.

The quarantine/23-1 lockdown seemed pretty pointless and cruel to me, given the lack of attention paid to other public health issues in the jail. And, as some of the participants noted, it was very hard on their mental health to be locked down for that amount of time. One participant, Lynn, had done eight years in prison, but she couldn’t tolerate the quarantine and had to quit the program. She said that she had worked very hard to overcome drug problems and the insanity of the jail made her want to start using drugs again. She also pointed out that medications were handed out to help inmates sleep, but she couldn’t take them, because they would threaten her sobriety.

Just as a side note, it surprises me that the show’s producers would risk having someone with a serious drug addiction come on that show for that very reason. Sobriety is a fragile thing for a lot of addicts, and relapses are brought on by stress. Being locked down for 23 hours a day in a place where people have unaddressed mental health issues would certainly threaten someone’s ability to stay sane– and sober. The lights are left on 24/7; there’s constant noise; and people have to be on high alert at all times.

One early quitter in Season 7 was a guy who had done federal time starting in 2004. I was reminded then that 2004 was a long time ago! This guy kept saying he wasn’t a “young buck” anymore. He probably would have been able to complete the program if not for the lengthy lockdown in the cell. But, as it was shown in the program, he was feeling really sick and stuck in a cell with a guy who kept farting. He had to make a quick exit. I couldn’t help but wonder about the people who don’t have a choice and must endure in those deplorable and unsanitary conditions.

Another participant– a guy who went by the name Chase, but was famous on Tik Tok under the handle “Lucky Chucky”– was complaining that there wasn’t enough milk or fresh fruit for the inmates. I don’t think he understood that a lot of people in jail are actually experiencing a lifestyle upgrade, although one participant said that she was more comfortable when she was homeless. This guy also brought up prisons in Norway, which I’ll agree, are pretty posh by most world standards. Norway has a very different culture than the U.S. does, though, and doesn’t have the same problems the U.S. does. So it’s hard to compare the two systems, although the prison system in the United States definitely does need a major overhaul.

I think the season was pretty much summed up at the end, when there was a two part “aftermath” episode. Soledad O’Brien facilitated the session during which the participants discussed their experiences on the show. The journalist literally and repeatedly had to tell two participants to “shut up”, because they were arguing with each other. One of them was slipping back into being an actual inmate and was sliding back into being a criminal. They had to pull him out for his own good, because he was about to “catch charges” that would have put him in the jail for real.

I think Season 7 of 60 Days In is one of the best of the series. It’s not a show I particularly “enjoy” watching. I find it interesting for a lot of reasons, but there’s also a part of me that cringes when I see their living conditions. I find it kind of stressful just to watch that show. I can’t imagine being a participant. In fact, I don’t think there’s any amount of money that would convince me to do it. That’s pretty crazy, though, since it’s so easy to be arrested in the United States and land in jail. Plenty of regular folks have “volunteered” for that experience just by committing petty crimes, and either not having enough of their own money, or not having sympathetic friends or loved ones with money they are willing to spend on them, to bond out of the jail.

In any case… I’m glad I finished watching that series yesterday. I look forward to moving on to cheerier entertainment today. Or, maybe I’ll make another video or two. The ones I did in honor of Gordon Lightfoot are doing surprisingly well.

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stupid people

I feel like I’m living in an episode of ER…

Remember ER, the wildly popular show created by the late Michael Crichton? I was a super fan of it from day one. I watched it religiously from its premiere in 1994, until I left the United States for Armenia. Then, when I came back in 1997, I went back to watching it. I downloaded all of the episodes and have seen them all at least twice.

One thing I remember about ER is that the writers were always coming up with some new fantastic situation involving the cast. One episode I remember in particular involved quarantine. Everyone in the emergency department was forced to stay isolated due to an epidemic. Seems like all of the medical shows have some storyline like that one. I remember Trapper John, M.D. also had a show about an extremely dangerous and contagious plague.

A 1980 episode of Trapper John, M.D. called Quarantine. It was very memorable.

I just watched this episode again. It’s about a baby with pneumonic plague. I looked it up and I see that it’s a lot like COVID-19, only it’s caused by bacteria rather than a virus. Antibiotics would help, although it seems there isn’t a mild version like there is with COVID-19. Notice that the mom is wearing a gown, hair covering, and a face mask, but no GLOVES! And she takes off the gown while still in the room with the baby. None of the staff is wearing PPE properly. They wear gowns, but no masks or gloves.

Also, this episode is about illegal immigration, which is also oddly timely at this point. I guess we were more humane in 1980, though, because Gonzo promises the illegal alien mom that he’ll do everything he can to keep her from being deported. I shudder to think about what the conditions are like at the southern border of the United States right now.

A clip from an ER episode called “Lockdown”. I believe that one involved a smallpox outbreak.

I’m sure most medical shows have at least one episode’s storyline related to quarantines. They’re exciting and unusual, and they bring out the best– and the worst– in people. A lot of folks are panicking due to the COVID-19 crisis, and some of them are doing incredibly stupid and selfish things, just as they always do in medical dramas. This morning, I read a news article about a couple in Canada who visited a grocery store and bought out the entire meat department– two shopping carts worth of stuff.

Caught on tape cleaning out the meat section…

Dan Marcotte and his girlfriend, residents of Lake Country in British Colombia, reportedly went to a Sav On Foods and bragged about “cleaning house”, as they also wondered if they could afford to pay for all the meat they’d thrown into their carts. They’d run in front of other customers, blocking them from being able to buy meat as they proceeded to hog all of the pork, beef, and chicken. Now, Marcotte is complaining because he’s getting negative reactions from the public, including death threats.

Here in Germany, people have been “panic buying” as well. Just as it has in the United States, toilet paper has become a hot commodity, as have hand sanitizer and hand soap and, curiously, flour. However, the local powers that be have put a stop to the “Hamsterkaufen” nonsense by placing limits on the numbers of these items people can buy at a time. It seems sad to me that this would be necessary in our so-called era of civilization, but it sounds like meat products are going to have to be rationed too, to stop greedy, selfish people like Dan Marcotte and his ilk from hoarding.

Marcotte explains that he has a “big heart” and used his moving company (which gets one solitary one star review) to help people escape the wildfires in 2017 and 2018. But now he complains that people have forgotten his past kindnesses in the wake of his regrettable decision to buy up all of the meat at a grocery store. I don’t condone people threatening other people’s lives over something like this, but I also don’t blame people for thinking Marcotte is a jerk and for letting him know that he is. What he and his girlfriend did is selfish and unreasonable, and karma can be a massive bitch with big teeth.

Marcotte claims that he felt “anxious” about the virus and had bought the meat entirely for his family. He says he has a mental health problem that causes him to “overreact” in certain situations (I don’t recall ever going through anything like this before in my 47 years, but what do I know?) Well, Dan, what about other people’s families? Have you thought about that? Guess not. In fairness to Dan, I did read that he is eager to “make things right”. He donated $1000 to a local food bank, which theoretically could feed up to 3000 people. However, he reportedly has no plans to return the meat he’s hoarding. I wonder if Dan has considered that money is very nice, but if there’s nothing to buy with it, it’s worthless. He says he’s still getting death threats and negative publicity, which will surely affect his business. I don’t think he deserves to have his livelihood destroyed, but he really should give back some of that meat.

As for Bill… he was finally let off “ROM” (restriction of movement) status yesterday, so he went to the commissary, where his temperature was taken, hands were washed, and he was allowed to shop in a group of about fifteen people at a time. He said it was a pretty relaxed shopping experience, although a lot of the shelves were cleaned out. Although there was plenty of TP available, he couldn’t find any hand soap that wasn’t in a bar form. Naturally, there was also no hand sanitizer, and Bill found three bags of flour– one all purpose and two self rising. He got the last of the all purpose flour.

Meanwhile, my allergies are acting up, and I have a very annoying dry cough. But that’s normal for me at this time of year. I don’t feel sick and don’t have a fever, and I mostly isolate myself even when there isn’t a “plague”. Hopefully, once the pollination is finished, I’ll stop coughing and wheezing. Asthma is not a joke, but it’s probably more humorous than a bout with the COVID-19 virus is.

I know there have also been some good stories about people being kind and generous. I guess this story about the “meat packers” really amazed me. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. People can be very selfish and greedy, particularly during a crisis. This is a time when people show their true colors. I just hope it’s not an extended time, because I’m not sure how long people are going to be able to tolerate this “new normal”.

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disasters, dogs

Empty Garden…

In the early 80s, Elton John had a hit song called “Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny). It was a song written in honor of John Lennon, Elton’s friend and fellow rock star, who was murdered by a deranged fan in New York City in December 1980. I’ve always appreciated that song for its beautiful melody and poignant lyrics. They spring to mind this morning as I consider the events of the past 36 hours or so…

I had been pining for another dog since we lost Zane in August of last year. Many people who know Bill and me, know that our dogs are our lives. We’ve successfully adopted five beagles/mixes so far and all of them have been special to us. We are usually quick to adopt again when we lose one. We figure it’s the right thing to do, since we there are so many animals that need good homes and we’re willing and able. But this time, we put off trying to adopt because of all the horror stories we’d heard about Germans not wanting to adopt to Americans. We had some travel planned, and wanted to wait until we’d both be home to break in a new dog. Also, we worried about how Arran would handle being a “big brother”. He’s a wonderful, sweet, devoted companion, but he gets jealous.

Nevertheless, last month, the time seemed right to take in our sixth rescue, even not taking into consideration that, because of the coronavirus, we’d be housebound anyway. I also have a very persistent local friend who’s been sending me pictures of prospective rescues for months.

I was especially attracted to “Jonny”, a beagle mix from Sardinia who had once belonged to a hunter. We sent in an application for him late last month, just before he was moved from Sardinia to Hamburg, arriving February 29th. But we had to have a home visit and interview before we could get him, and Bill had to go to the USA on business until March 10th. We couldn’t have our home visit until last Sunday. It went very well, though, and the lady who interviewed us had no qualms about approving us. She made a special point of telling us about the harness and collar combination so important for rescue dogs who are scared and unfamiliar with their new homes.

Wednesday night, we were formally approved to adopt Jonny. Originally, our plan was to drive to Hamburg on Saturday and pick him up. Because of the coronavirus, traveling has become more complicated. We realized we might not be able to find a hotel because so many are not accepting guests due to the “plague”. So we figured we’d bite the bullet and drive to Hamburg early in the morning and bring him back home that evening.

At any other time, our plan would have gone off without a hitch. But coronavirus has really made arranging travel more difficult. Then, on Thursday, a couple of workers in Bill’s office came up positive for COVID-19. Consequently, everyone in our local military community has been asked to stay in town and avoid any unnecessary travel. Bill called the rescue Thursday night to see if we could arrange alternate plans for picking up Jonny. He asked if we could pay the adoption fee and provide financial support for Jonny and have the foster mom hang onto him until we could travel to Hamburg to get him. The coordinator told Bill that we must arrange to take him immediately or lose out, because travel was being shut down in the Hamburg area and there were local people who had asked about him.

It was looking doubtful that we’d be able to adopt the dog and Bill was about to say we’d just wait until a more convenient time, but then the coordinator suggested that we pay for a pet taxi to Wiesbaden. The dog would arrive at our home between 6:00am and 7:00am Friday morning. We’d just pay 160 euros for the transportation. But we also had to sign the contract and pay another 380 euros for the adoption fee. We don’t have a printer or a scanner anymore, because every time we’ve had one, its use has been short lived. I used printers all the time when I was in graduate school, but now that I’m out of school, they end up being wasted space in short order. So that was another problem that made the adoption look like it couldn’t happen.

Fortunately, our landlord likes dogs and is very open to letting us get a new one. Bill asked him if he’d mind printing the contract, letting Bill sign it, scanning it, and sending it back to the rescue. The landlord obliged; the contract was signed; the fees were paid, and we spent all Friday morning eagerly awaiting Jonny’s arrival.

Sure enough, a “pet taxi” arrived at our home yesterday at 7:00am. The driver had called us an hour earlier. She’d been bright and cheery and she spoke excellent English. We spent the last hour excited about meeting our new family member. When we spotted her pulling in next to our driveway, Bill went out to greet her. He’d even bought a couple of croissants for her because he knew she’d been driving all night.

Bill stood at the back of the pet taxi as the transporter emerged to get Jonny out of the back. She took him from his crate and set him down on the ground. For some reason, he was not wearing a harness (she said it was too small for him), and the collar he was wearing was too big for him. The transporter said it was her collar, and claimed she was not given a harness or a collar by Jonny’s foster mom; consequently, it didn’t fit him properly. When Jonny’s paws touched the ground, he suddenly backpedaled and slipped out of the collar, bolting from our neighborhood. Neither of us so much as had a chance to pet Jonny before he was gone. I only got the slightest glimpse of him.

Bill and the transporter set off on foot to try to catch him, but he was too far gone. A few drivers pointed in the direction of Wallau, which is a village not far from us. Bill and the transporter got in her taxi and went looking for him, but it was a futile effort. They came back without the dog. Bill was in tears. But he still paid the transporter and gave her the croissants.

The German search organization, Tasso, made us a flyer.

I spent all day joining Facebook groups and posting pictures of Jonny. We called the police station, where someone had reported seeing the dog in Wallau. I left messages at the fire stations in two villages, and we called our vet. I posted in Toytown Germany, and got a lot of suggestions for groups to post in. One lady even called me and offered suggestions, even offering to call around on our behalf, since our German isn’t so good.

Meanwhile, while this was going on, Bill was having to work from home. He spent his lunch hour searching for Jonny, with no luck. Then he was summoned to his workplace because the commander had ordered that everyone in his office get tested for COVID-19. Bill went in to get swabbed and came home with a face mask. He has been ordered to quarantine until the test results come back, so he’s not allowed to leave the house. That means I probably shouldn’t leave the house, either.

We did have a couple of stupid and thoughtless comments from people. Two people assumed we’d been scammed. They thought we’d paid for a non-existent dog, which is an unfortunate crime in Europe. Fortunately, I was able to set them straight very quickly. I got a few comments from people chastising us for not having the dog in a harness or a crate. We’d stupidly assumed a professional pet driver would know what she was doing and we hadn’t been involved in outfitting Jonny for the trip. However, we definitely learned a lesson about securing new dogs, thanks to Jonny’s escape. I did get one comment from someone who said maybe Jonny wasn’t meant to be our dog. That thought has crossed my mind, although it surprises me that someone would say that to me. It makes me feel like shit and isn’t helpful.

Many people suggested using tracking dogs to find him, but as he’s never been in our house and we’ve never so much as petted him, that didn’t seem to be the best solution. Jonny’s foster mom came all the way to Wiesbaden with her daughter and their dog. Jonny loves kids and they do have things with his scent on it. I was gratified that they’d made that effort, and suddenly began to think that the foster mom wasn’t the one who hadn’t properly secured Jonny for his new home. We did tell the rescue what happened with the transporter and her services with them have now been terminated. She also paid Bill back for the transport fee. Oddly enough, I don’t feel that angry with her. I know she didn’t mean any harm; she was simply careless. Hopefully, she will learn a valuable lesson.

All day, I got private messages from Germans all around the communities. Most of the advice was genuinely helpful under normal circumstances; but again, he’s only technically our dog at this point. We haven’t bonded with him yet, because we’ve never touched him or looked him in the eyes. He doesn’t yet associate us with home or family. I still have hope we’ll someday have that connection, although the longer he’s gone, the more I worry that he’s gone forever.

Nevertheless, the pictures and posts were shared repeatedly in many groups. Last night, several people said they’d heard barking in a forest near a riding school about four kilometers from us. It was dark outside, though, so no one was ever able to find the source of the barking. Hopefully, it’s Jonny, and we’ll be able to recover him sometime soon. He’s overweight and he’s a beagle, so he’ll no doubt be ready to eat and sleep in a comfortable bed soon.

I’m trying to stay optimistic. I do have a feeling that we’ll get him back. But I’m also a pessimist by nature, so I can’t fully let myself go there yet. This is an absolutely nutty situation made all the more complicated by the pandemic, since we can’t even go looking for him ourselves. I was planning to write a fun story about how we made the adoption happen. It didn’t occur to me that we wouldn’t even get to pet our new dog before he ran away from us.

I’m still very moved by the response of the community. Germans really love their dogs, and they are overall helpful, kind, people, if not a bit harsh at times. I have faith that we’ll have Jonny back in his garden, soon… with a LoJack on his collar. If not… I think it’ll probably be a long time before we try to adopt again. I don’t think my heart can take another loss so soon.

Update: Jonny was found dead. He was hit by a car.

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