I live in apple country...
New York State is famous for its endless miles of apple orchards, and for family trips to local orchards to pick them fresh off the trees. And this year has been an exceptionally good one for the state's apple growers, a huge harvest, and a bunch of happy farmers. I'm happy, too.
As a result of the excess of apples in the region, the prison's food service staff has purchased lots of the fruit for the inmates, having gotten a good deal from local growers. Thus, I've been getting an apple a day for dessert, alternating between the lunch and supper meals. Purchased in bulk, it's a big bargain for correctional stewards with tight budgets. It's a better deal for me, too, because now I have something that's healthy to eat instead of having to settle for the standard institutional junk food of sugar cookies, watery pudding or icing saturated squares of overly sweetened sheet cake.
I love apples! And, fortunately for me, I can get extra apples whenever they're being served on the chow line because many of the men cannot eat them. Why? Because they lack the teeth necessary to chew their apples. I know it sounds funny, but it's true. Many prisoners have serious dental problems. A sizeable number have no teeth at all. While those who own a set of prison issued dentures will tell you that such a poorer quality product is simply not made to handle a fresh, crisp apple.
No doubt, years of abusing alcohol is a big reason for this. What better way for a man to have his teeth slowly rot away than by drinking endless amounts of cheap whiskey or wine all the day long? As is probably the case for many an alcoholic and addict, he suffers from poor dental hygiene. I really doubt if the average heavy drinker thinks about brushing his teeth after every meal, and forget about regular flossing! Many a man who comes to prison probably hasn't seen a dentist in decades. He's an oral wasteland of missing, rotted and broken teeth.
In my favor, therefore, is the fact that those who have no teeth have little interest or ability to chew an apple. So their uneaten fruit will come my way just for the asking. What a blessing for an apple lover like myself.
As a result of the excess of apples in the region, the prison's food service staff has purchased lots of the fruit for the inmates, having gotten a good deal from local growers. Thus, I've been getting an apple a day for dessert, alternating between the lunch and supper meals. Purchased in bulk, it's a big bargain for correctional stewards with tight budgets. It's a better deal for me, too, because now I have something that's healthy to eat instead of having to settle for the standard institutional junk food of sugar cookies, watery pudding or icing saturated squares of overly sweetened sheet cake.
I love apples! And, fortunately for me, I can get extra apples whenever they're being served on the chow line because many of the men cannot eat them. Why? Because they lack the teeth necessary to chew their apples. I know it sounds funny, but it's true. Many prisoners have serious dental problems. A sizeable number have no teeth at all. While those who own a set of prison issued dentures will tell you that such a poorer quality product is simply not made to handle a fresh, crisp apple.
No doubt, years of abusing alcohol is a big reason for this. What better way for a man to have his teeth slowly rot away than by drinking endless amounts of cheap whiskey or wine all the day long? As is probably the case for many an alcoholic and addict, he suffers from poor dental hygiene. I really doubt if the average heavy drinker thinks about brushing his teeth after every meal, and forget about regular flossing! Many a man who comes to prison probably hasn't seen a dentist in decades. He's an oral wasteland of missing, rotted and broken teeth.
In my favor, therefore, is the fact that those who have no teeth have little interest or ability to chew an apple. So their uneaten fruit will come my way just for the asking. What a blessing for an apple lover like myself.
| How grateful I should be for having parents who made me brush my teeth. Their firm enforcement of my having to practice good dental hygiene is now paying some good dividends. While others are toothless, I thank God I still have mine. My parents knew what they were doing when my dad would sometimes have to escort me to the bathroom sink, ignoring my protests, to make sure I brushed before bed. What else can I say but, "Thanks, mom and dad!" D.B. |  |
