When I Did Time, I Was—Technically, Legally, Constitutionally—a Slave

  [View in Browser]( [Esquire]( [SHOP]( EXCLUSIVE [SUBSCRIBE]( [When I Did Time, I Was—Technically, Legally, Constitutionally—a Slave]( [When I Did Time, I Was—Technically, Legally, Constitutionally—a Slave]( Back in the late nineties I owned a SID number (12218354) and an address in an Oregon state prison. For part of my biddy prison bid—the old heads said my time was short fore I got there—I worked as an orderly in a mental ward of the Oregon State Hospital. The official duties included sweeping and mopping the halls, changing sheets soiled with feces and/or soaked with urine, and making beds tucked with tight hospital corners. The unofficial duties included learning to at least feign aplomb when residents tossed food trays, tantrumed to the point of restraint, or screeched refusals of their meds. [Read More](   ['Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge' Sent Me Straight Back to the Arcade]( ['Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge' Sent Me Straight Back to the Arcade]( Cowabunga, gamers. [Read More]( [Best Amazon Prime Day Tech Deals 2022 to Shop Now]( [Best Amazon Prime Day Tech Deals 2022 to Shop Now]( Name-dropping: Apple, Bose, Sonos, Breville, Sony, LG, iRobot, etc. [Read More](     [Blackstock & Weber's Chris Echevarria Brings Us Into His World]( [In Partnership With Lexus]( [Blackstock & Weber's Chris Echevarria Brings Us Into His World]( The loafer maestro—and, if he has anything to say about it, the next big thing in American fashion—takes us along for a ride. And, yeah, there's a Porsche. [Read More](   [The Strong, Silent Type Will Not Shut Up]( [The Strong, Silent Type Will Not Shut Up]( My dad had one of those big chairs. Oxblood leatherette, brass-tack trim, an ottoman for the feet and a wingback for the head. A piece a decorator would call masculine. A chair for reading three paragraphs of a book and then immediately napping. A Dad Chair. It was the one thing I wanted from Mom and Dad’s place in St. Louis when we cleared it out last Christmas. I found a guy who was moving cross-country and paid him $400 to drive it from St. Louis to L. A. [Read More]( [46 Must-Read Books by Queer Writers]( [46 Must-Read Books by Queer Writers]( 18 LGBTQIA+ literary luminaries share their summer reading recommendations, featuring everything from ice cream to ice dancing. [Read More](     [Alternate text] [The 22 Best Linen Shirts For Summoning Big Vacation Energy]( [The 22 Best Linen Shirts For Summoning Big Vacation Energy]( There's a reason the style remains a perennial staple of warm weather dressing. [Read More](   [Win an Escape to Old San Juan, Puerto Rico ($1,500 Value)!]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( esquire.com ©2022 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019