Part 17 (2/2)

”Do you have a job?” I asked

”I get e,” he said

”What do you do?”

”I help out,” he said Harry assisted other patients He pushed their wheelchairs to and from the infirmary He rescued patients with a dead wheelchair battery who ht be stranded around the colony He ran errands ”I do what they ask me to do,” he said

No fanfare No complaints The as simple It was quiet In fact, I hadn't even noticed his tasks were jobs It looked more like a routine He helped people Each little rescue was ireat acts

I wouldhis special utensils He was as friendly as any person I had everHe never called the inive us a smile, but he never did use our names, or even nicknames

”My name is Neil,” I reminded him

”I know,” he said, like I had insulted him

When I asked why he never called any of the prisoners by name, he looked down at the floor and shuffled his Velcro shoes Embarrassed, he said, ”You all sort of look alike”

When Ella arrived for breakfast, I poured her a cup of coffee

I felt a love for her like I'd not felt before Not quite like I loved s or my wife or my parents I respected her and she treated h I was a convicted felon

”Saturday will becoffee with you”

”Miss you, too,” she said, s

I would see Ella in the hallways, in church, on our daily walking routes, but I would ether

”I'll miss our talks most of all,” I said

”We'll talk,” she said

”Where?”

”In the breeze,” she said, staring off into the leprosy patient courtyard

I nodded like I knehat she meant, put my hand on her shoulder, and told her I'd see her later As I walked toward the kitchen to turn in my apron and dry erase markers, Ella stared out the”Yep,” she said in an airy voice, ”I'll see you in the breeze”

CHAPTER 59

On thebefore my first day of work as a teacher, about fifteen men lined up outside the door of my prison room I'd never been in the roo I'd always beenon the menu board One at a time, the men walked into our room, stood in front of Doc's bunk, and described their symptoms Doc would listen, look down their throats or feel underneath their jaw, and jot down a few notes Then, he would tell them exactly what to tell the physician assistants they were to see later that

”Clark Kent,” one of the inmates said, ”you didn't know Doc here saved ht a mistake s had been prescribed, inadvertently, by two different physicians

Theand old, Christian and Muslim, black, white, and Hispanic For all Doc's talk of not wanting to be around these men, he still honored his Hippocratic oath He exanosis, and sent theed hands Doc was full of surprises

When I arrived in the education department, Ms Woodsen sat at her desk in the corner of the roo the inmate students pass the GED The Bureau of Prisons received raduated, and I was certain I could teach theh school equivalency test Never one to set the bar low, I had a secret goal of 100 percent graduation, but I told Ms Woodsen I thought I could achieve a 50 percent graduation rate

My strategy for success was simple I would start with questions I would discover what the men did not not know That was the key I introduced round I emphasized that questions and curiosity were the secrets to learning I wanted the me any question I waited for someone to speak up, but they were slow to ask know That was the key I introduced round I emphasized that questions and curiosity were the secrets to learning I wanted the me any question I waited for someone to speak up, but they were slow to ask

The classroom was filled Several students were my friends Ricky, a handball buddy, sat on the front row Mr Dinghaned labor deals for thousands of stevedores at the port, sat in the back I was surprised he didn't own a diplo to make the”

Mr Dingham raised his hand and said he had two questions ”Is it true,” he asked in a strong New Jersey accent, ”that vultures ain't got no assholes?”

Ms Woodsen screamed at hihaha and don't never need to take a shi+t”

Ms Woodsen stood up and pointed a chubby index finger at hie up in here!”

I stepped between theham that what he'd heard about vultures was a itated Even scavengers had trouble digesting bones and feathers, I explained Then I deham's question, scientifically

”Is it true that vultures don't have a rectuitate their wastes and, consequently, do not excrete feces”

Ricky, my handball buddy, was confused ”Feces?” he asked

”You know,” I said, pointing to my own rear, ”poop dook” Then tentatively, ”shi+t”

Ricky smiled like he understood Then he leaned over to his friend ”You're a feces head”

I juha him to avoid curse words

”Well, I've alanted to ask,” Mr Dingham hesitated

I assured hi as a bad question”

”Well” he said, ”I've alonderedwhat's a vowel?”

The other h or snort And no one rattled off the letters They aiting for my answer, too I turned my back to the class and wrote A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y A, E, I, O, U, and sooal, I would have to spend hours tutoring after class on the chalkboard To reachafter class

This was going to take longer than I'd thought

CHAPTER 60