By Roger Weiss
July 4, 2011
I spent part of my July 4th holiday visiting Bill in prison. Seems kind of ironic, spending the birthday of our nation's freedom in a federal penetentiary. But, since I happened to be in Austin over the holiday weekend, and he's only allowed visitors Fridays-Mondays, that was the day to go. I must admit, I had my hesitations about visiting a prison, but given he has to "live" there, I figured I could weather it.
If you're thinking of visiting Bill, here are a few things you need to know. Before you even go, you have to send in the forms to get approved. Be sure to email Bill of your intentions, or email . The prison is about 45 minutes outside of Austin, so you will need to rent a car to get there.
At the prison, you cannot bring anything in. You have to leave your phone, wallet, hat, and anything else you can think of in your car. All you can bring in is your ID (like a driver's license, which is mandatory), and money. You go through the usual metal detector, and then you're led to the visiting room. I would allow about 20-30 minutes from the time you arrive until you get to the visiting room.
The visiting room resembles a bus station waiting room. It's not scary at all. There are rows of chairs and you sit alongside him (not across from him). At one end are vending machines. He is NOT allowed to go to them, but you can buy stuff for him, if you want, so bring dollar bills and quarters.
Bill likes ice cream sandwiches, which happens to be a weakness of mine as well. So, for a measly $1.25 each, we snacked together. There are soft drinks, candy, etc. I had about 2.5 hours to sit and chat with Bill, and the time does pass by quickly, probably due to our sparkling conversation. The sad thing is when you look around and see these little kids visiting their incarcerated fathers, and realize how these families have been torn apart. Bill told me some of their stories and about their severe sentences. It's just unbelievably sad to see.
Bottom line, it was good to see Bill, and do what I could to make his stay there a bit more bearable. He looked good, and was very appreciative of my visit. If you happen to be in the Austin area, you should consider visiting him and making his day. I was glad I did.