It was a year I am glad to put behind me. Nothing good was accomplished.

I spent the year sick with cancer

Court cases put on hold. Moved to the infirmary in the prison. Not a place one wants to reside in. Colon cancer surgery. Port surgery on my chest for chemo treatment. Six trips out for chemo done. Six more to go.

The chemo is an ugly beast the doctors have developed. They created a poison cocktail to kill the cancer sells. Devastating enough to kill the cancer cells, but it kills everything else also. Every other Wednesday I am taken out to the chemo treatment center. First I am given a a two-hour chemo IV drip. This is attached by a needle into the port they placed under the skin in my chest. Then I am hooked up to another line into the port. A portable chemo pack is placed in a carrier around my neck. From Wednesday morning to Friday night I am given the chemical cocktail of poison to kill the cancer in my lymph nodes. Shot into my heart every five minutes. This lays me to waste. I am incapacitated, and bed ridden, from Wednesday to Monday. Then I am able to start to rebound and pass the poison out of my system. I can start to eat a little then. The worse thing is the chemical taste in my mouth I can not get rid of for a week.

Long Lonely Nights

So 2021 was long, lonely nights, where sleep did not come. The pain was great. I could hear the Grim Reaper whisper so softly, “Come on over to the other side. Dump the body and the pain. There will be no more torture here.” But I am not quite done with this walk of life yet. So I got junk-yard-dog mean and bit the bullet. Told the Reaper to take a long walk off the short pier.

Hungry, Sick and Covid Lock Downs

So I spent a year of Covid lock downs, commissary denial, and short on food. Hungry, sick, and getting my ass kicked every other week by the chemo.

So I look forward to 2022. To finish the chemo. Get the double hernia surgery done. Then get back to rebuilding my body and strength.

So good bye 2021.

Author: Larry Harris

My name is Larry “Rocky” Harris and I am serving a sixty-five year prison term in the state of Illinois for a crime I didn’t commit. After I went to prison, I began to study the law, and now I am what is called a “prison lawyer.” I provide legal advice to inmates who can't afford a lawyer. I am looking forward to telling my story in this blog, and also providing a forum for prisoners everywhere. View all posts by Larry Harris

Latest From Larry

Chow on July Fourth

Today we went to chow. It is the Fourth of July. In the past we were given a real meal on the 4^th—a cheeseburger, a pork, or turkey sausage with a big bag of potato chips and a cup of ice cream. Today we had tamales and mystery-meat chili. We were given a red apple. But staff was standing outside the chow hall making the prisoner throw away the apple. Vindictive treatment that will serve no penological interest.

The IDOC does not believe in rehabilitation anymore. They strive to treat the prisoner in a demeaning manner. This is the mindset taught by the IDOC supervisor–taught at the recruiting academy in Springfield.

Someone down the line decided that if we treat them as harshly as we can they will not return. But this concept is not based on facts. The recidivism rates in the State of Illinois proves this. The treatment we get here only creates angry men and women released upon the public

Worst Thanksgiving

I did not believe the Food Supervisors here could do a worse job on the Thanksgiving meal. But today I was found to be wrong. I received a hot tray. But it was cold. Three compartment styrofoam tray. On the hot tray the front compartment was filled with cold instant potato mix. Then on top of that was a spoon full of stuffing. On the other end was three ounces of turkey flakes. Not even real turkey this year. No dinner roll. No turkey gravy. All the leftover vegetables from the week were mixed together in the small compartment. They tasted terrible. In the other compartment was two small pieces of sweet potatoes. This swimming in brown water. On the cold tray the pumpkin pie had a cooler-burn flavor from sitting in the cooler, in the open. It had taken on the funky flavor of the cooler. Two stale pieces of bread. Lettuce with ranch dressing. My neighbor opened his tray. Took a look. Closed it and only ate the pie. I ended up taking the turkey flakes and mixing it with a bag of chicken breast meat. I mixed this with a bag of chili. My Thanksgiving meal. So I hope Pritzker does not cut the prison dietary budget again. Food here is very disappointing daily. But today they won the award for the worse Holiday meal yet. Sad state of affairs. Larry 11-25-2021

Great news on the fight with the Grim Reaper

We put him down in round three. Nurse dialed in my nausea medicine and it worked great. I took one pill one hour before I left for chemo treatment and the two hour i v. drip. Then the chemo pack placed on my chest. This usually makes me pretty sick. But I was able to eat a small meal last night with chemo pack on. A first there. Today I was given the nausea on the same regiment. Was able to eat lunch. So the grim reaper is down and out. I am eating. Getting strong again. So in the future the Grim Reaper will rear his ugly head again. But death has been put on hold for now. Chemo no longer having me fubar. (Fubar: F—-ed Up Beyond All Recognition) So great news as I face Nine more rounds of chemo every other week. Once the chemo pack is off I get a two hour rehydrating drip. This on Friday night. Again on Saturday. So I am feeling really strong again. So to my fellow cancer buddies. Keep your heads up and chest out. I wish you the best. To my readers, I am lean, mean, like the junk yard dog. I will kick this cancer down the road. Larry 10-28-2021

More Retaliation

February 7, 2021

The Warden was supposed fill all commissary staff positions and start running the store right. Instead she retaliated by removing 114 items off the store.

Budget Cuts

December 29, 2020

Starting January 1st, 2012, Governor Pritzker is cutting the IDOC prisoner dietary budget by 2% statewide. Another cut to our already depleted dietary budget.

Retaliation Cover-Up For First Amendment Activity

October 18, 2020

Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) staff use illegal acts to punish and silence the prisoner who exposes their corruption and malfeasance.

Prison Lockdown

August 21, 2020

You may be wondering what is happening in the prisons during the Covid-19 crisis.

Dangerous Situation

August 7, 2020

Prison lockdown 24/7. The prisoner is being denied all rights and privileges due to a nurse coming to work sick.

No Sleep Again Tonight

July 27, 2020

Denying sleep is a great cause of short tempers. I see the other men starting to snap under the repeated treatment.

Seeking Civil Rights Attorney

July 21, 2020

Seek lawyer to represent in interesting civil rights suit. See Harris-vs-Brannon, et al., 4:19-cv-04235-JES.

No Lawyers Allowed in Illinois Prisons?

July 16, 2020

No prisoners sick. None tested positive for virus. So why am I still on lockdown with no lawyer calls allowed?

Corona Virus Measures in the Illinois Prisons

MARCH 30, 2020

In mid-March we received a memo stating there was no corona virus in the IDOC. Nevertheless, we have been put on lockdown, because of “coronavirus.”

VICTORY OVER SOY!

The Illinois Department of Corrections Dietary Manager at Shawnee Correctional Center has stated that they will no longer be serving soy. The inmates are getting roast beef for their Christmas meal. Poultry scraps, pork, and some beef are back now. This is a true win we could not have done without the help of the Weston A. Price Foundation. A huge thank you from all the prisoners in the state of Illinois!