Michael Alig…

A Day In The Life….

10 September 2001

Michael was asked to write a journal for a documentary the satori group were doing for Danish TV (tv 2 zulu video). After much consideration he wrote saying that since every day was the same all he could muster was one day, the 10 September 2001 So he sat down and wrote the following….

Noon: Just woke up. I try and sleep as late as possible in order to "waste" as much of the day as I can. When I wake up at noon, the day is at least partially over and the time seems to go by quicker.

Lunch: tuna salad (1/4 cup)
pasta salad (1/2 cup)
3 canned plums
1:30 pm: It's time for an hour-long "recreation" period - which I never take advantage of. It just isn't safe. You may not believe this (I didn't until I saw it with my own two eyes), but others use this time to "throw shit" at one another in the yard. They actually shit in a plastic bag, stuff it in their pants or socks, bring it to the yard and fling it at one another. Sometimes, if they are "known shit throwers", they are checked for bags of shit on the way out, and they hide shit in their mouths so they can spit it instead. I haven't been outside in almost 7 months. My skin is flawless! I look like I'm 12.

2:15 pm: My neighbors are having an argument about who has more "bitches" and who gets more visits from bitches. It's quite a heated argument - Thank God they're both locked safely away from one another.

3:00pm: Mail time. This is my favorite time of the day because it's the only time that brings a bit of magic or mystery. I'm pretty lucky, actually. I got 8 letters. Most inmates don't get any. They don't like that I get so much mail. One guy down the hall actually screamed,
"I don't get no mail since that "bird-ass nigga" (that would be me) got on this company"
I think that he thinks that I brought bad luck or something. Everyone here is really superstitious. When the mail cart goes by without giving you any mail, they refer to it as a "drive-by".

5:00 pm: Dindin:
soy stew (yuk)
boiled potatoes (yuk)
white pudding (yum)

6:30 pm: While listening to the evening news, a devilish joke has crossed my mind. On the news, the newscaster is about to describe a simulated "what if" scenario of what would happen of a biological weapon were to be detonated in a US city.
They announce the location: Oklahoma City.
A new strain of smallpox has been unleashed.
Now what?
Thinking quickly, I announce excitedly to my neighbor,

"Quick! Quick! Turn on the news! A biological weapon has been unleashed in the US!"

Now, I wasn't trying to upset the guy. I honestly thought he would get it - that I was joking. After a few seconds, he gets all excited and starts screaming to the rest of the company,

"Hey! Guys! Turn on the news! Listen to this!"

So now the entire company is listening, in shock, believing it's really happening. Some are really upset. I'm just waiting to see how far it will go. One man says,
"This thing could spread to New York!"
Another says:
"We'll be safe in here, though, won't we?"
Then someone replies,
"No way! These officers go in-and-out of the facility and they'll bring it in to us!"

The whole company is now in a panic...I'm not making any of this up, either!

"I've got family in Oklahoma!"
"Everyone calm down! We got to decide what to do!"
Then someone screams,
"Many of us have family and loved ones out there - I suggest we all pray for their safety!"

So then, everyone is silent in prayer...and I'm beginning to feel a little guilty (not too guilty, just a little), and everyone's freaking out.
The someone yells,
"Hey, this isn't real! It's just a simulation! No bomb was detonated!"
My neighbor then screams,
"Man, you don't know shit! My neighbor (me) listened to the whole broadcast and it's real!
Isn't it, Michael?"
So everyone is panicking and I don't know what to say, so I say,
"It sounded real to me!"
Then a fight erupts - everyone's mad at the one guy who is trying to tell everyone it's all fake - and they're all on my side, trusting and believing me. Some are writing letters home, frantically telling relatives to seek shelter or leave the state - or country!. The whole company is in an uproar!

9:00 pm: Everyone is still fighting over the "bio-attack". Now they're waiting to hear the 11 o'clock news to see if it's real.
Meanwhile, I'm answering my mail (I answer every letter), and reading a little Tennessee Williams.

10:00 pm: Mail pick-up. I sent out 11 letters tonight, and I'm almost out of stamps. They only allow us to buy 50 stamps per month, which may sound like a lot, but it isn't really. Not for a whole month. Stamps are pretty hard to come buy here. It's easier to buy heroin!

Midnight: Well, there was no mention of the "bio-attack" on the news, but some of these drama queens are so hungry for excitement that they refuse to believe that it did not really happen. Fights continue to break out here and there, all while I try and do a little bit of re-writing in my book, Aligula. I don't know why I bother, really. The administration won't allow me to mail it out. I'll write until 4 or 5 in the morning, or until I pass out.

Tomorrow, I'll wake up and do it all again.