"I dont know what to believe" when I was there in Straight INC. in St. Pete There was NO physical abuse! From what I have read this negative actions must of occured after I got myself kicked out. Only after having to start beating the hell out of a staff member or person bugging me. "J" You were right about them not letting you get into your head, fuck every time I did, I had some fucking punk snapping his fingers in front of my face to bring me back from what I was enjoying and I do till this day! How about this one I dont know how far back some of you go but Im 41 and I ws there in the begenning at straight, I remember when every other minute the whole place would jump up and down in their seats snapping their fingers trying to get who ever was the staff person was to pick on them just to pick a song and if the staff person did not like the song even though they sing the fucking thing a thousand times durring the day, he would say Na then go to someone else to pick a song he or she liked! A real Tribal Idiot!!! So Jim or Liz,(the staff back then) you fat piece of shit, if your reading this today I have made it!!! without fucking Straight INC. I sat on 1st phase people till 6 months finally I could not take it anymore, I went nuts trying to pick fights back then it was "bringing the other person down It was a goal for me to find the one who just made 3rd phase and see if I could get him to laugh, you would be suprised how many did.I was sent there by a Judge Harry COE they called him Hanging Harry, if ya;ll remember about 4-5 years ago he was found dead he had blown his brains out in his car, Does anyone know why??? DRUGS! he was selling and they were closing in on him it was in St Pete. The same bastard that sent me there, well i did have a choice % years of hard work and labor or finish the straight INC. Program of cource I picked straight, at 17 I would have killed myself in a prison. But after the 6 months of it I was ready to do the time just so at least I know when I would be free, I remember drinking Kool aid from a dixie cup and eating choclate chip cookies dunking them in my kool aid, I had lost a lot of weight in that place from lake of food, there was hot meals I dont believe anyone who says they ate PBJ for a year or more there full of shit!How come these shows are not shown on tv today??? Like it did back then on Phill Donahue? Lets get Montel involved!!! They did carry you around by the belt loops if you had to use the bathroom. What I thought that sucked was that you had to earn the right to talk to your parents, for only 5 minutes! they would take us outside and go out by the marsh for a hour or 2. That fucking hot sun in that tin bld and we did'nt have no AC durring the week they would only turn it on when it would be parents night or when they would have a guest there that was doing a tv show about us like we were some fucking circus. The thing that I did realy get out of straight was to recconise what I was feeling. Back then I did not understand that, or what it meant! I faked my way to 2 nd phase and I got to stand up and yell "MOM IM commimg Home" No body was expecting it, not even my mother who after 4 months they had her convinced and she quit brining me my cigarettes. But the first night I was home I was ready to run away, I got my freedom back that evening and I did not want to go back after the 3rd day when I was going to run, they stood me up in the afternoon and anounced that they were going to take me back to 1st phase, That was the straw that broke the camels back. I was put into the THINK ROOM does anyone remember the think room, a 4 wall room nothing in there but concrete and a chair and a guard outside the 2 doors that went into the place, of course I had to fuck with the guard and run to one door like i was going to escape and when he would run to the same door I would run back to the one he left. LOL The only thing is that I realy wanted to leave, I did not want to hurt anybody just to get my point accross but I had to because they woukld say oh you better realy think hard you dont want to leave you will die if you try and make it on your own! Nobody ever watched me go to the bathroom or anything like that, they did take you in by your belt loops or if you were on 2 nd phase or higher you could just get up and go.I was always checking out the woman though, good thing they had them on the other side I was going to make a run when I got there but a friend that was ordered there with me LOUIE Jones ran after the 3rd day there and got away lucky bastard! that put the lock down on my ass cause they knew we were tight friends. I always a fantasy to be able to run and make it I used to sit around and think about it all day long its what got me throught the longest 6 months of my life. then Once I was kicked out They took me down to JDC in St. Pete remember that place??? I was free at last more there than straight even when those doors would lock at night! I did not have no one hanging onto my beltloops and I got to eat a real meal not out of a can and blended with all these other can foosd that the parents would bring in, and you were doing good to get bread with it! I got to work in the kitchen at JDC and only a week I was in there before my guidence counslor came got me and took me to a half way house, then a week later after that I went to see the Judge, I did not complete the straight program like i was ordered I thought for sure I was on my way to Trento NJ. Because later on I found out my Mom was going to not take me back home and the only other place I could have gone would have been Trenton, but thank God my Mom Loved me enough and it was Mothers day the day I had to see the judge, and the Judge said I had belonged in straight for 6 months I had to have learned something, he gave me probation with the exception My mother want me to come home, and sure enough she did!! what a great ending. But my point is that I had made up my mind I was not going back to STRAight PERIOD! And guess what a person That had graduated the program I met up with him and guess who turned me back on to smoking pot YOU GOT IT HIM! I smoked pot and did other drugs even when I was in the Service, But I did quit doing everything back in 1986 turned it all around and did not do anything! I been just fine since then. I am Happly married with 2 fine sons 18 months and 4 months old. And a beatuful wife Debbie for 4 years now. Remeber how every one would yell out when you sat back down after you would reveal everything personal about your self and be totaly exposed?? then they would yell " WE LOVE YOU DAVID" HOW NAUSIATING NOW WHEN I THINK BACK. And what was with those fricking songs, Sung like the micky mouse version STRAIGHT INC! or JOY, Or the one that would make me want to vomit ITS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL. every one sound off on here as what age you are now and how old you were in straight. I feel as if Im the only one that is the oldest on here. "LOVE YOU EVERYBODY" Now lets have a song!