He Called 90 Minutes Before Federal Prison. He Just Wanted a Packing List.

The longer you stay on the wrong train, the more expensive it is to get home.

That's what I told him.

He said, what?

He called so I could tell him what to pack. He was surrendering to the camp at Fort Dix in about 90 minutes.

I'm like, oh, I was just at Fort Dix in February. Okay.

He hadn't prepared

He didn't want to talk about the train either.

The good thing is, because he hadn't prepared, he probably wasn't going to waste money.

He asked what I meant.

My white Reebok shoes and Timex watch

Three days before I went to prison, I thought I was very clever. I looked at the Taft commissary list and saw white Reebok shoes and a Timex watch.

So I went to Big 5. I bought them. I was going to surrender wearing them.

That was a big no.

When I surrendered, they told me I could donate them or send them home. I think they went to the correctional officers' trust fund.

So I told him, don't pack anything you're not prepared to lose.

So what do you bring?

I tried to pivot back to the train, to having a productive experience, to letting go of the past and the regret.

He said, I don't want to talk about the train. What do I pack?

Fine. Whatever. Here's what I told him:

• Any medications.
• Some money. There's a chance they take it in.
• Your contact list.
• Your release plan.

Your family can also send money through Western Union or to the drop box in Iowa. The Bureau of Prisons explains both options on its website.

For Western Union, the BOP says your family needs your eight-digit register number followed by your last name, with no spaces or dashes. The code city is "FBOP, DC."

For the Iowa lockbox, the BOP lists money orders, government checks, and certified or cashier's checks. It says not to send cash or personal checks. The address it gives is:

Federal Bureau of Prisons [Your committed name] [Your eight-digit register number] Post Office Box 474701 Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

The Fort Dix handbook says people inside are not permitted to have currency in any form.

Your case manager may throw the release plan in the trash

Your release plan should probably be online. One free place to put it is a Prison Professors profile.

Share it with your case manager. At first, your case manager may throw it in the trash. They may be testing you.

Share it with your probation officer, too.

You want to get off the train and begin building a better record.

He said, you're still on the train.

My bad. I was just trying to give him something useful before I went to the airport to fly to Montana.

Do not complain

So meds, some money, your contact list, your release plan. But more importantly, do not complain. Do not lament.

You're moving into an environment where some men have lived for weeks, months, years, and decades.

Here's the train again.

Today's a great day, because you're one day closer to home.

I told him, you haven't even gone to prison yet, and you already get credit.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(a), a federal sentence starts on the date you arrive voluntarily at the facility where you'll serve it. Under that rule, the day he walked into Fort Dix should count. Credit for other time, like days in custody before sentencing, depends on the case.

I wanted to talk about getting off the train and getting on the right track.

It totally failed.

Watch the short HERE.