Abstinance by any other name...

So, again, as you know, I work in a prison. One of my duties there is to teach a series of classes called "New Beginnings" which is a life skills class. We go ever things such as communication, decision making, goal setting, money management, healthy lifestyles and time management among other things.

Most of the time the Healthy Lifesyle class is broken into 2 parts with me teaching the eating/excercise class. Our infectious disease specialist teaches the diseases portion with includes STD's, TB, HIV/AIDS and so forth. However, my teacher was not available for this class so I got to teach it.

During the class I talked about how to keep from contacting STD's. I went over the importance of condom use and had to state that you must use a laytex condom to reduce the risk of catching one, you cannot use natural condoms because they do not create a barrier against an STD and HIV/AIDS. The I stated "However, abstinance is always the best way to eliminate the risk of contracting an STD because abstinance it the only 100% foolproof way". Now mind you, I have 17 men in this class and they are all over the age of 30. One raises his hand and says "Ms. Crounk, how you spell that? And where do I find those?". I said "What?" So he repeats himself. I looked at him and asked if he was talking about abstinance. He said "Yeah, I need to know where to get those kind because that is the only ones I want since I know I won't get nothin'. Oh, how do you spell it again because I need to get some when I get out". So, I spelled it for him and told him that I thought it was really great that he was going to use abstinance. He says "Oh yeah, I been in here 10 years and I know my woman gots needs so I don't know where she been or with who so I want to use these until we get all tested to make sure we don't have anything". I thought that was a very mature attitude and commended him on it. I also told him that I really believed in what he was saying so I wanted him to make sure that he did not have sex until he found the abstinace condoms. Then and only then, should he feel safe enough to have sex. He says "Yes ma'am, you can believe there ain't nothing happening until I have some of these". All the other inmates in the class were "on board" and really encouraged their classmate not to do anything, that he HAD to use only Abstinace! It was great.

My husband asked me if I let the poor man in on "joke". I said no. I think he is a good candidate for promoting abstinance.