Mountain View School for Boys

  I still remember that morning that Fernando and I went through the double gates in that Prison in that white jeep coming from the Hill Top School. It was a sunny bright bright afternoon. And even now as I look back at all those years that have have zoomed by I still can't get over the semantics that Political and Government Officials use just to appropriate money from its Tax paying citizens. For example, they called Mountain View a school but it really was a Prison. I remember that Mr. Christianson and Mr. Dixon were the two Supervisors who received us at their office that early afternoon and had us physically examined by some medical team there and had barbers cut our long wild looking hair. These Officers explained the Rules for their school and assigned us to our dorms. Afterwards they called for escorts to escort us to our companies. I believe that Fernando went to either dorm 13 or 14. These two units are housed in one long single story red brick building. Well, as a matter of history and fact is, that there are two Dorms connected to one building throughout this School. I don't like to overwhelm readers with too much detail, but in due course of time these details will tell a compressed and composite story that some in the near future will find interesting when they come to understand the whole story about what went on at this point at the Gatesville Reformatory. Many of those young people that were sentenced to do time here, were not all stupid or idiots as some of the White Peoples Test for Intelligence may have suggested for that time. A researcher has to factor in many social and cultural elements that are woven into this whole fabric of madness as one can see from my writings. It is not only about ignorance at the inmate levels that are being wrongly assessed here; and about lower class people housed here, but also about the Racist and Discriminatory and deliberate plans to administer misplaced Justice that dealt crushing blows to these people's morale by people with I.Q.'s at 120 or 130; and at times at 160 and 180, who wrote and administered these crazy Laws. Therefore, who are the mildly retards here? Or put another way, who are truly the criminals here? And so this is the picture and scene that clearly demonstrates the  Real and True Nature of humans, hence, what do we do? It's like someone said, The Inmates are in Control of The Asylum. Therefore, it is what it is! And it has always been that way. Call me a cynic, that's fine, but there is a Doctor Jekyll in Mr. Hyde and in us all the time. As I see things I never saw anyone coming to adopt any one of these Chiren housed here at this Reformatory School. Shit!..., I didn't want to be housed here either, but I made a choice to be part of a Gang, an obnoxious one at that. Why, because I was angry that I couldn't understand why there was no lasting peace or love anywhere around. And why is life so unfair? And why is it that I am hated for the Black color of my skin. Even light skin Mexicans discriminated against me. Although I will go off on a tangent again I am still on point however. Back a few years ago I was living at 700 Center Street in San Marcos, a Black Neighborhood. A friend who's name is Arthur Machado's dogs got loose from their chains at his house down the street and they are huge white dogs. Well, these two dogs got tangled in a tree next to another friend's house who is Black. This guy's name is Eric Bias, we are great friends. Well, Eric comes to my house after hearing the dogs barking loud out in front of his house. He called me out and so I went to see what he wanted. Then he says to me that he wants to get to the dogs, to lose them and let them go free, but that he is scared because dogs don't like Black People. So he is asking me to lose them. So I look at Eric who is very light skin Black and I say to him, "Eric, if those dogs don't like Black people what makes you think that they are going to like me? Hell Eric..., I am darker than you!" Then we both laughed out in the middle of the street when other Black friends like Melvin Harris, and even Arthur the owner of the two dogs walked up looking for his dogs. These friends had gathered to see what the laughter was about, I told them and afterwards they poked more fun at Eric for that comment on our color of skin. People, all I can keep repeating is, that it doesn't matter how people try to reform or rehabilitate troubled people in this world and change them inwardly, that will be a difficult task for anyone to undertake with any kind of success. I don't care how much money one throws at building a Nirvana System or Utopian System where a Man Made Machine will yield any kind of long lasting good results regarding any kind of Human Reform Treatment Centers, etc... Sooner or later we will find out that I. Q. levels don't determine anything about good behavior; or have any bearings for that matter on a Righteous behavior. Just look at how some people who are Leaders in Churches are being found to be corrupt individuals too. No one is exempt from this Law of Iniquity operating here on earth. Especially those at Wall Street and Big Banking Industries. Well, therein is my analysis for Correcting human behavior for Mountain View or Gatesville State School for Boys and all other Institutions of the World. Conditioning and modifying behavior techniques are like treating cancer; cancer will only mutate and still be cancer. The treatments will mitigate the symptoms for awhile but the treatment's negative side effects will contribute to other bad results too. Thus, whereas man's attempt to correct or modify others evil and wicked corruption, that effort exposes our corruption too. It's a Catch-22 situation. So that is why I am glad that I was brought up knowing and understanding that if one bucks The System, don't get caught because "God" didn't establish it for nothing. Because when punishment is executed justly based on righteous Law, those executing it are guiltless. However on the other hand, I know about how people who are given too much power can screw up a good thing. And how Gold can do the same thing. Nevertheless Prison is Prison, and will continue to be a Prison as long as people disobey The Law! And prison like cancer will never be without problems and defects. And if one believes in Democracy, well, fight for it because nothing is Free. Laws are in place to effect good behavior because The Law knows that given an opportunity for too much freedom, sooner or later we will have none. And as I was saying, Fernando went his way and I went to Dorm 10. And Dorm 9 was connected to us. From Dorm 9 and 10 all the way to Dorm 15 and 16, these dorms were on the West Side of the school. From Dorm 1 and 2 through Dorm 7 and 8 these units were on the East Side. And a note about he young kids at Dorm 9 for this period, they were either guys with homosexual tendencies or were first timers at Gatesville and they were too young for the age group of guys there at Mountain View. How these very young boys of ages from about 13 or 14 ended up here was not right for sure, regardless of their crimes committed. But since they were there, for their protection they were housed with those accused of practicing at times homosexual acts with other inmates. And for the record, for inmates to have time to mingle freely anywhere here at Gatesville or Mountain View with other inmates without being watched by guards was almost impossible. For example my brother David was about half a block away from me, and we could hardly ever carry a long conversation of about 5 minutes together at any time. Life here was tough to say the least. But here at Mountain View we did have a swimming pool and a gymnasium. Every Dorm had a special night when we could see a movie. We also had sports events in the evenings and we had one hell night of P.T. a week. Every event was on a rotating basis. Therefore, these special events of a duration of an hour or hour and a half were all we would get randomly as our turn came around. And as with any institution there are many characters that make a huge impact on my young life here. Most of them I will meet again at T.D.C. much later. At Dorm 10 that place and Dorm 3 is where it is happening though because of two of the craziest White men who are morning guards and are as crazy as the inmates. At dorm 10 it's Mr. Hallmark. He is an older White man but brutal and yet wise and kind. He is medium height and is not muscular. At Dorm 3 Mr. Sassy is about 6 feet 4 inches tall and burly. He is older too, but not as old as Mr. Hallmark. However, it's Mr. Hallmark who is respected the most from 1965 until I left in May of 1969 when I was there. He may have been there since the place opened in 1962? I got there to Dorm 10 circa July 4th, 1967 and Mr. Hallmark was there to receive me too. I say that he was there since 1965 because if you remember Slim, India, and Happy Skull, well they were the ones I met at The Adjustment Center the very first time I was sent there in 1965. And these three guys were sent to Mountain View from Hill Top then. And they were at Dorm 10 when I got there in 1967. I got to see them all go home when they turned 21 years old. All three of them recognized me as well and told those there about Fidel and my escape attempt from Lock Up. All three of them worked in the Kitchen with my brother David in the morning shift. My other friend Porter from the Riverside School was working in the kitchen in the morning too. Then many of my brother's friends worked in the Kitchen in the morning also. Man, I am talking about how we had a lot of our friends who worked in the Kitchen. Even I worked in the Kitchen's Scullery room in the evening shift. And I had many friends here at this shift too. I feel bad that I can't mention all the names. There was Daniel Nieto from San Antonio; Big Head El Cabezon from Houston; Daniel Escemia El German from Houston, and Jimmy Solano from San Antonio. And outside the kitchen the list is long as well. Let me mention a few, Los Guerra brothers David and Jesse; El Mickeres, these guys are from San Antonio. El Abe from Dallas, Little Waco and Big Waco, Santana, Richard Vargas from Dallas, Roberto from Dorm 15 from San Antonio, Valentin Trevino from Corpus Christi. Again I am sorry because there are hundreds of these guys here who become like family here. And in the Kitchen we have the best Chefs working here. In the morning shift we have Mr. French a white man. In the afternoon and evening we have Mr. Christenson a White man too. Well needles to say that the food served here is great compared to all the other schools. But we are not served enough. I would have to say that Mr. French was the best cook between the two men. But Mr. French was a big  and tall man like Mr. Christenson the cook and the Supervisor. However, Mr. French was the most feared of all of them. This Mr. French must have served in the Military because everything was by the book. And he inspected and tasted everything. And if things were not to his standards, it was a serious ass whipping for whoever failed his test. And everyday somebody would get an ass whipping from him. I would only get tested from him on some occasions when he wanted to stay longer at his kitchen. But I did get beat up by him a couple of times for a speck of dust on a pan or pot. On the other hand Mr. Christenson was more laid back. He just wanted the place clean and everything spotless, and the food tasting good. He was not brutal at all. It is here however, that I am introduced to real Southern American food like never before. It's here where the Guards who watched over us as we worked or ate would laughingly tell us out loud, "Hey Guys..., you've never had it so good huh!?" And as far as I was concerned, these guards were not lying. Let's sleep on that for now. In the next letters I will finish out this Mountain View story. And so as you can see though as you peek into this place in time that I chose to inhabit, that it was a life with intoxicatingly bitter sweet flavors, like some apples, cherries, and cobbler pie, and fine French cognac. I am sure that it's a sick way to look at it, but it was meant for me. Moreover, I understand that these places were not Fraternities or Lodges or Country Clubs, but there is bitter sweetness there too. And perhaps worst behavior than we ever manifested or cared to is practiced in these places? Too much of anything or freedom can mess up a good thing. Thanks again amigos.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Respectfully,                                                                                      Ruben N. Gutierrez

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