So, I was driving down through Florida not too long ago, just trying to clear my head a bit. Took US Hwy 90 for a stretch, ended up passing through Live Oak. It’s one of those drives where you see a lot of open space, then small towns pop up.
Somewhere along that route, I remembered hearing about Suwannee CI being out there. Didn’t see it directly, wasn’t looking for it, you know? But just knowing it was nearby, off that same highway I was on, got me thinking.
I’d read somewhere, maybe online or something brief, that places like that are real careful about where they put inmates. Based on their history, what they call ‘custody level’. Made sense, obviously. You gotta have a system for things like that.
Thinking About Systems
It just kicked off this whole train of thought about how everything, everywhere, has some kind of sorting system. You know?
- Jobs sort people by experience.
- Schools sort kids by age or tests.
- Even traffic lights sort cars, telling them when to go, when to stop.
It reminded me of this one time I was trying to get rid of an old fridge. Called the county pickup people. Man, the rules they had! Had to be on the curb by a certain time, door removed, refrigerant drained by a pro… a whole checklist. Felt like I was being processed just to junk an appliance.
It wasn’t a bad thought, just an observation. Driving along, seeing the road signs, thinking about that facility tucked away somewhere nearby doing its own sorting, while I was just… driving. Free to choose the next turn, stop for gas whenever, grab a crappy coffee.
Funny how things connect in your head. One minute you’re just driving, the next you’re thinking about systems and sorting and old refrigerators because you passed a sign for a town on Highway 90.
Anyway, I kept driving south. The thought faded after a while, replaced by figuring out where to stay for the night. But yeah, that was my little mental detour sparked by passing through Live Oak.
