We acquired a lot of close friends, but in addition we acquired a constituency. Now life has to make sense to that constituency. We prison leaders have a lifetime obligation to back up our stalwarts. A couple of final comments. Self-indulgence is fatal.
Daily ritual seems essential to mental and spiritual health.
I would do 400 pushups a day, even when I had leg irons on, and would feel guilty when I failed to do them. This ritual paid valuable dividends in self-respect, and, incidentally, I learned yesterday at Mayo Clinic that it also paid physical dividends. I thank God for the other Americans I was imprisoned with. The respect one develops for others in a POW situation is really indescribable. I think it might be best illustrated with a story of something that happened once when I was in solitary and under extremely close surveillance.