Marcie Hamilton was not happy to be where she was. She was a forty five year old divorcee, decent looking, not especially pretty, but not overweight. She felt her ex-boyfriend had betrayed her, her lawyer had let her down, that she was unfairly treated by the judge. She had a lot of company. In fact, more company than there should have been. She found herself in the Women's' Correctional Unit serving a one year sentence for check fraud. She spent her time complaining about why she was there, why she detested the place, but most of all, the governmental bureaucracy which, she felt, frustrated her every move with delays, mishandlings, lost files, and procedures she simply could never fathom. There were entirely too many inmates, it seemed, and to reduce to the legal capacity, a number were being moved to a new facility several hundred miles away. She was, she had been told, to be one of those.
In midmorning, a guard approached the cell Marcie shared with three other women. Her name was called. "Marcie- that you? Yeah, your number checks. Look, Marcie, the time has come for your transfer. It'll probably be later today. I need to get you ready."
"Ready to leave this stinking place? Gladly! What do I do?"
"I want all your personal belongings in a plastic bag, here, this one. I'll be back for it in twenty minutes. Everything goes in it except the uniform you're wearing. Everything - you are not allowed to carry anything with you. You wearing your own underclothes?"
"Yes, I am. What of it?" Marcie replied, a bit of antagonism showing. "Take 'em off. They go in the bag. Or else you won't have them when you get there. The bag with your stuff goes to your new home separately - you'll get it back when you arrive. I'll seal it and you sign the seal, so no one touches it. But anything not in the bag stays here - got that? That means hairpins, shoes, everything. Until you leave, you go barefoot and braless - understand?" The female guard was clear and firm. Marcie understood. She put all of the things she had in the bag, including her underwear and shoes. As instructed, she had it ready for pickup when the guard returned.
Having disposed of her rather simple belongings, Marcie was left in prison uniform - pants and a jacket, lettered with the institutional name. Her feet were bare, and under the prison suit she wore nothing. She waited. And waited.
At lunch, she received the usual prison fare. It was summer, and warm. The trip would be long, four or five hours was the guess, as the prison vans were known to travel back roads and at unpredictable times to frustrate attempts at interceptions and possible escapes. She fortified herself with extra glasses of fluid, anticipating a hot trip.
Afternoon came and went. Evening approached. Marcie waited. No one came for her, there was no message, nothing. "Figures", she reasoned aloud, "everything they do is screwed up. No one knows what they're doing around here. Probably took the wrong person!"
Dinner time. Another guard came for Marcie, to tell her the van for that day had been filled. They couldn't take another inmate. She would go the next day. "What about my stuff?" Marcie fumed, Γ don't even have a toothbrush!"
"Your stuff went without you. You'll get it back when you arrive. You'll make do with what you have for the night. Tomorrow you're going anyway." "When tomorrow?" Marcie inquired. "You should know the procedures - you'll get fifteen minutes notice. We don't announce departure times in advance." "Great!" Marcie answered, then thought a bit, "I don't even need fifteen minutes - I haven't even got a hairpin to pack."
The next day, Marcie went to breakfast in anticipation. She really looked forward to a new location, and while the ride wouldn't be any luxury trip, at least it would be several hours on the outside. That would be a relief in itself.
At ten thirty Marcie received the summons, and ten minutes later a guard arrived to escort her to the transfer station. First she was taken to a room, where she was told to strip before two female guards. It didn't take long, she had nothing on but the prison jacket and pants. She was quickly inspected, and pronounced ready to go. She assumed that meant no contraband had been found. Her escort inquired, somewhat kindly, if she would like a drink, pointing out that the ride would be long and hot. "This is your last chance, Marcie. I can't promise you will even get lunch." She was taken briefly by the lunch room. It was not meal time, but an assortment of fruit juices were available, along with a pitcher of tea. Warned that she might have to skip lunch, Marcie appreciated the offer, and drank several glasses of what was offered. "At least", she commented, "if I don't eat, I won't have an empty stomach."
She waited a few minutes, and was taken to a room from which an outside door could be seen, well locked. Two uniformed male officers were waiting in chairs. A stern-faced female clerk sat behind a counter. Marcie was told to stand while paperwork formalities were handled.
The two men, she perceived, were those who operated the prison system van. They had come from the new institution (dubbed Unit #4) to pick her up. The clerk yawned as she plodded through a pile of paperwork. Errors were found. Phone calls were necessary. Time dragged on. The clock on the wall showed twelve thirty.
The clerk was impatient. "It's almost my lunch hour - I want to get her out of here and you guys on your way. All right, I think we've got everything cleared up. Now let's see the uniform you brought for her!"
"Uniform?" the first officer inquired. "They didn't give us any uniform."
The second officer intervened. "She was supposed to go on the van yesterday. That crew had the uniform for her. Didn't they leave it?"
"I got no uniform for her" the clerk insisted. "Rules are, when you pick up a prisoner, you bring a uniform for them."
"Well", the first officer replied, "we don't have one. If the crew yesterday didn't leave one, then I guess she has to go in what she's wearing".
"Oh, no, she doesn't!" the clerk stated emphatically. "That uniform she's got on is marked for Unit #1, which is us. That uniform is ours, it's charged to us! We've got no uniforms to give away - we're overcrowded and short of everything, including uniforms. When we transfer a prisoner, the new institution has to provide the uniform, and she puts it on here. What you bring for her has to be a prison uniform, marked for your place. That uniform she's wearing doesn't leave here!"