My friend Sally posted on her blog the memory of a prompt we did in our critique group several years ago. It made me think of the one I did then. The great thing about prompts is that you all start out with one idea, and each writer comes up with a totally different scenario. Her blog post is on Our Blog – A Way with Words. You can read her story and see the unique response each of us had to the prompt. Check it out.
This is my take on the same prompt related to a respiratory therapist and a nervous breakdown. I don’t remember the exact prompt.
I was sent to interview John Melonovich, the hero of the Pinal Juvenile Prison break. I took my cameraman with me for a short taped interview for the six o’clock news. We met at a small breakfast place in Florence, a few blocks from the prison. I was a little worried because I assumed John would be a big, mean, bulldog-type guy. What I found was a guy, 5’5”, 130 lbs soaking wet, with a twinkle in his eye and a great big smile. He had single-handedly subdued six violent teens who had taken a prison guard hostage in an attempted prison break. No one was seriously hurt. The worst injury was a broken tooth suffered by one of the teens.
I began the interview with the obvious question, “What brought you to serve in the prison system and with juveniles in particular?”
“I used to be a respiratory therapist in a hospital,” John said. “But I had a nervous breakdown, and so when I was ready to go back to work, I decided to do something less stressful.”
“But why this? I think being a prison guard would be very stressful,” I asked.
“This is something I’ve really always wanted to do. I didn’t like working with old people, which most of my clients in the hospital were. I especially hated working with old sick people. They died. When the pandemic hit, there were even more patients gasping for air. Definitely not my cup of tea. So I bailed.”
He continued, “I’ve always wanted to work with kids. I have a way with them. I use humor to disarm them. I think I knew I could help kids in trouble. When the pandemic came, I took the opportunity to change jobs. I’d worked at the hospital for ten years before my breakdown. When I felt strong enough to go back to work, we were required to get the jabs, and I refused. They didn’t take into consideration that I have a conscientious objection to vaccinations. I never had to have any of the shots before – not flu, or pneumonia, nothing except the annual tuberculosis test. I don’t object to that. It’s just a test. I was unemployed for nearly five months, looking for jobs that didn’t require the vax.”
“I discovered I could be a prison guard because they were desperately needed, no vax required, and all I had to do was go through twenty weeks of basic police training and a simultaneous online psychology course. I already took two years of psychology in college, so that was a no-brainer. I joined the program and earned half salary during my training. With that and my savings, I was able to get by for six more months.”
“To what do you attribute your success last Saturday? How did you get those kids to give up?” I asked.
“I have lots of Monty Python skits in my head,” John said. “I went into the Dead Parrot routine, but I used the obese prison cook denying he was fat as my foil. The boys, none of whom had ever seen Monty Python, were mesmerized by my antics. They couldn’t believe I was talking as two characters and making jokes about the cook who they all hate. I had them doubled over laughing, and when I was through, I asked them if they would please let Officer Blankley come out of the room. I promised I’d go to bat for them when they had to face disciplinary charges. They were in such a good mood; they had a quick huddle and agreed. Office Blankley, Ted, was released. We left Officer Morton in charge. As we walked out the gated cell area, we heard the boys trying to remember and reenact the skit.”
“Well, it certainly sounds like you found a way to release tension for everyone involved. That’s a wrap, thank you, John, for your candid interview. I’m sure there is a commendation in it for you and maybe a spot on Saturday Night Live.”
