I finally got off the night shifts after a year and a half. My love life would finally improve. This happened in about the summer/fall of 1980. I worked with the Chief Jailer, Sgt. George G. The night shift jailer consisted of one jailer working 18:00 – 06:00. Day shift consisted of the sergeant and one jailer. It was at that time I had dealings with Nathan T. On this particular incarceration, Nathan kept himself under control for a brief time. In the coming weeks, Nathan began to lose it. Nervousness and jitteriness. He never took his prescribed medications on the outside, so he obviously refused his hospital call medicines in jail. One morning on the day shift with the sergeant, we heard the inmates in the cells upstairs yelling and cursing. I went up to see what the hubbub was all about. Nathan had flooded all three toilets in his side of the jail. I reported my finding to the chief jailer downstairs, and yelled. When I went upstairs to the cells again, I saw where the inmates had Nathan backed up against the bars, threatening to beat his ass. I rescued Nathan from the other inmates and took him downstairs to the “Hard Cell.”

The Hard Cell consisted of a concrete floor, a solid iron cell door with a mail slot for feeding, a steel toilet, and one sheet of steel plate to function as a bunk. The hard cell was striped and had no mattress, linen, nothing. We even turned off the water this time. The hard cell was used for our dangerous inmates. Like murderers, past escapees, and even the Marielitos. Nathan said he was angry because Sgt. George had promised him something and did not come through. Around midday, Nathan calmed down and promised that he would not flood the cell if we could turn the water back on. O.K. Sergeant, here is where you earn your money. What is it going to be Sergeant? George said, “Go ask the Sheriff what to do.” I stuck my head in the door and told the Sheriff of the situation. Earl always had his door open if there. The Sheriff said, “Go ahead, but you know he is going to flood it again”. I reported back to the Sergeant, and I turned the water back on. Nathan could finally wash off and flush that nasty steel toilet. As we walked away, we heard the toilet flush and gritted our teeth. Good, it was only one flush. The Chief Jailer worked M through F from 08:00 till 17:00. The day shift jailer worked from 06:00 till 18:00. Later that day, just as George was about to go home.

A patrol deputy came through and asked us, “where is all this water coming from”?

The Chief Jailer sprang to his feet and said, “that little bastard is up to it again”. I struggled to hold back my laughter as George went off his rocker. We ran back through the jail’s big gate to find water oozing out of the hard cell and Nathan cackling. I ran behind the wall and turned the water off and paused to get myself straight. I heard through the wall George asking Nathan, “why do you have to be this way, Nathan?” It was said so pitifully and meekly that it really got me going. I was behind the wall, shaking my head, trying to stop giggling. When I returned to the cell door, the Sheriff was there.

“Hold him in the hospital cell while the trustees clean up the mess,” said George. The Sheriff said, in his nasally southern accent. “Now Nathan, this is the last time you’re going to do this because I will never turn your water back on.” The trustees absolutely hated Nathan. The trustees had to clean up all his messes. Remember the waterfall? The sergeant was in control and barking out orders. Nathan was placed in the hospital cell. He was still naked and cackling. The water was turned off this time.