Rediscovering Joy Through Snow in Florida

Michael Himes shares a rare and moving experience seeing snow in prison, describing how a simple weather event momentarily dissolved the walls of separation among incarcerated men.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen snow. A few years ago, while I was at Hamilton C.I., there were snow flurries, but all of the snow melted before it landed on anything. I tilted my head up towards the sky and opened my mouth, and not a single flake landed on my tongue.

I hadn’t even seen snow since I was a young child before that one time. As for feeling or holding or walking through snow, I hadn’t done that since I was a young child—until this morning.

Experiencing Snow in a Florida Prison

I was surprised at how warm it was outside and remained as I stepped out the door this morning on my way to the dining hall for breakfast. Everyone was a bit excited and laughing, as most of these people have never seen or even felt real snow before.

Of course, the first thing that everyone did was grab a handful of it, toss it at their closest available friend, and laugh out loud about it. For a moment, we were all free, there was no prison, no guards, no difference in neighborhood or gang, no color. It was only a group of grown men who had the opportunity to act like children again without any judgment being passed on them by their peers.

A Temporary Escape From Reality

I thought it was awesome. Hell, everyone thought it was awesome, but as is true for more things than not, it had to come to an end. Everyone had to snap back to reality and grow back up in a flash. Again.

The excited chatter about the snow lasted until about noon, which I thought was pretty cool. Most of these guys have these complexes about what it is to be a man and the tough guy image required from them. They don’t really have much good communication with each other, yet they were being genuinely nice to each other and communicating peacefully.

Lessons From a Snowy Morning

Overall, today was a good day! The snow was still on the ground as we came out of the building for lunch and dinner, which caused the bubble of elation to rise back to the surface of everyone’s emotions on both occasions. Again, awesome!

I really wish that these same guys learn a simple truth from this series of events, and that’s this: You don’t have to always be upset, angry, or tough. Sometimes you can let go of the outrageous and unrealistic expectations that you’ve built for your personality, and just relax and enjoy the blessings that we all receive every single moment of the day from the first breath until the last.

Enjoy this story? Don’t miss Prison Friendship: Finding Humanity in the Unlikeliest of Places

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