This episode ran by me very quickly. It was very engrossing. Disturbing. The file itself was VERY difficult to listen to - muddled and much like listening to Charlie Brown's teacher talk (wawh, wawh, waaawhh).

So, the fellow is in solitary. That stinks. So the fellow beat his woman. That stinks. So the fellow is lonesome. That stinks, too.

I'm sorry, but I am a very compassionate person who takes great pity of people in our society who have bad fortune befall them. I'm the guy who does give out change to the homeless person I see on the street. I can't help it. It's my nature.

But when it comes to those people who break the societal laws - the laws which we all must obide in order to try to live halfway normal lives, my heart does not bleed too much.

Often I will be in traffic and see that one car that flies down the road in the breakdown lane, as though they had some right that the other thousands of commuters do not have. I see people at the grocery store take 10 items when the sign clearly says LIMIT 3 PER PERSON. Or when people let their dogs run along the beach when it is posted all over NO DOGS ALLOWED ON BEACH.

This kind of behavior is obnoxious and makes me shake my head - but it is the kind of stuff that can be forgotton or not taken "too" seriously.

However, the character in this story clearly exhibited signs of not being able to follow the rules of a bigger scheme. He wasn't just cutting in line, or disobeying a sign, he was crossing the lines of what our society deems acceptable. He knew the consequences. Since he was asking about things like baseball and the weather, it is safe to assume he was for the most part "sane." An insane person would have asked about something completely obscure, such as "What is the going rate for terillium on Planet G these days?"

My point is, that I only identified with the main character in that it would really stink to be stuck in the hole like that. But I did not feel sad for his situation. I thought the guard who was comforting him was being kind, but foolish in not fulfilling his responsibility. The only one who seemed to me, to have a grasp on things was the second guard - the one with the glasses. He may not have been an admirable person, but he knew the way things were.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the way it was presented. A fine choice for OTR show. I gave it a 4.1 and especially enjoyed the audio special effects like the slat in the door opening and closing; the glass; etc.

Thanks and best wishes!