Life at the Jail

As I slowly made my way down the concrete stairs holding onto the railing so I would not fall. One step, two steps, Three steps, all the way to the bottom. The stairwell was cold and echoed as I counted aloud. Finally the last step as I jumped landing with a big thud on the floor. I loved going to see my Grandma and Grandpa Wismann. Grandpa Wismann is a very important man, he is the Sherriff. My grandparents lived about the jail. I was allowed to go downstairs and explore certain parts of the jail. As a five year old it was the neatest thing on this earth.
I would sit on Officer Walden’s lap and watch the television monitors. The monitors were so small, about 9 inch screens and the picture was in black and white. There were so many of them all in one place, I counted probably 20. That was a lot of televisions in one spot.
As I looked at the monitors and all the different pieces of equipment I was always amazed. There was a radio that someone was always talking on. You could hear someone talking about numbers all the time. Every now and then Officer Walden would pick me up off his lap and stand me up and say, “Now Sonja, you need to go on back upstairs, we have some police business to take care of.”
He was so tall and strong, like a giant. He always had on his two toned brown uniform with a white t-shirt underneath. You could see just a little bit of it when he would move a certain way. The t-shirt sort of peaked out from around the neck of his shirt. His badge always shined like the stars on a clear summer night sky. When the light would shine on it just right, I would have to look away because it was so bright and shiny.
I ran back upstairs to tell Mom and Grandma about how much fun I had downstairs in the control room. I ope...

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...ut the door I went; back down the steps; one, two, three all the way to the bottom step. I always jumped off the last step, thud as my feet hit the floor and back to full speed ahead. Once I got to the jail door I had to slow down. If I didn’t slow down and walk I would not be allowed to visit. I searched for Officer Walden until I found him; there he was in his chair. “Officer Walden how do I look?” He said, “As beautiful as always.” I must have made him happy because he was smiling really big.
Life at the jail was a fun and exciting place for me. I learned about what it was like to live in a cell and I knew at a young age that I didn’t want to be on the other side of that monitor. Police officers are wonderful people that are full of love and compassion. I learned so much from all the officers and I think that is what helped to mold me into the person I am today.