ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I'm getting ready to leave for one night in an absolutely charming little river town up north. Usually, I head there to testify in court. This time, I have to spend the night in this little town and then head out tomorrow morning to drive further north to a prison to evaluate an inmate.

The hotel is quite charming, modern and comfortable, but decorated with very good reproductions of yesteryear. Beds are comfortable, plumbing works well, electricity works well, continental breakfast is actually tasty, hotel staff are polite and helpful. The lady who cooks the breakfast is a white haired lady in her 70's and I've carefully evaluated her, over multiple stays at the hotel, and feel comfortable eating the food she cooks.

The gentleman I'm evaluating is actually a "southern regions" client, but he's been placed in a northern prison. I cover the southern region and am supposed to evaluate any of the men who were convicted in one of the southern counties. This happens a lot and it's fine. I am supposed to have to travel the entire state to evaluate "southern region" inmates no matter where they are living.

Unfortunately, because we are dreadfully short staffed, very often I have to evaluate "northern region" inmates where ever they are housed. The bad part of that is that I then have to testify in the northern county where they were originally convicted. Some of the northern counties are fine for testimony. But, invariably inmates who were convicted in "northern region counties" are much less pleasant than "southern region" inmates.

For example, I have repeatedly had to evaluate men convicted in the little county where I am headed today. Any of the men I have evaluated and recommended for commitment from this county are invariably profoundly behavior disordered and perverse. I refuse to eat anything in any restaurant in this little town because of one of the men I evaluated. I carry my own food in the form of fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and frozen "Smart Ones" meals rather than eat from their restaurants. I even carry a case of canned diet soda in the car. I use the excuse that I need to keep my insulin refrigerated (which is true) and there's no use wasting the space in the cooler. The man who caused this reaction was working in a fast food restaurant in this little town (while he was on parole). He would masturbate into soda cups and then fill the cups with ice and soda. Then, he'd watch the women he served those sodas drink them. This sexually excited him. And, I swore off eating in restaurants in that town. So, except for breakfast at the hotel, I eat food brought from home when in this little town.

Another man I evaluated and had to testify on from that town, would masturbate to the PBS station when it provided coverage of health concerns for very poor African girls who became pregnant in their early teen (12 and 13) and then were permanently damaged physically during the birth process. Somehow, he found that sexually arousing.

Sometimes, it's like living in a schizophrenic world. I live my life with Eric and the animals in a quiet little peaceful insular community of tidy lawns and well maintained houses. I stay, for the most part, at acceptable hotels with clean rooms and good service. Every now and then, I stay at really charmingly elegant little hotels with clean rooms and good services. At the same time, I'm dealing with people who scare me so much I am afraid to eat food in restaurants.