You'll probably never know how much wisdom you actually passed on to us. Even if most of it was probably unintentional or through your mistakes that I learned some of my best lessons. For instance--the biggest thing that kept me from any experimentation in drugs and alcohol was the fact that I knew you'd catch me. Or the fact that you planted the seed of my love of fantasy and science fiction.
And yes, I still make my chocolate milk the way you taught me. It's a reflex. I don't think I can make it any other way. :)
Can't wait to see you at Christmas. At least it's only a few months away.
Hi Ronald, thank you for your reply. I just read through the comment I left you and reading over it again, it sounds a little cold - which is not really how I meant it to sound. The reason why I left the reply, is because I felt like I identified with Dina's position. It is a good thing to help others, but when they say or do something that makes you question why you're doing it, it can be very heartbreaking.
I was pleased to read in your blog that you cared enough to, not just genuinely apologize to your friend, but to do it in a public forum. I believed that if she cared enough to do all she did for you, that she would also respect your apology & this is what I was trying to convey.
I hope what you've learned out of this is that everything each and every one of us say & do has consequences for others - often in a way that we could never even imagine. For this reason, I choose to only ever say kind, positive or at least constructive things. That way I'm usually always assured of never unintentionally affecting or hurting another.
We all know genuine friends aren't easy to come by & I'm happy to see you are man enough to admit when you're wrong, to protect your important friendships. We all mess up (we're only human after all) & that's ok, but the true test of our humanity is in how we rectify the pain we cause. I'm glad you have such a kind & compassionate friend. Take care of her (and you).
Hi Marcus, thank you for your reply. I don't have an issue with the timing of your responses. Perhaps I'm "old school" but I find waiting for a reply somewhat romantic in a way. In our crazy world of instant gratification, sometimes it's nice to receive something out of the blue that I wasn't expecting. I also am not someone who commits to something if I'm not 100% sure I can continue with it and writing to you directly is one of those things. I would love to have the time to write letters all day & night but unfortunately my reality is that I'm a single mum, raising 3 children on my own, studying and working so my time for myself is very limited. For that reason, I'm very grateful for Between the Bars. I can come here and learn, share and communicate and get back to what I'm actually supposed to be doing.
I'm not sure how popular BtB is in Australia but I'm pleased you're hearing from people from all over the world. I initially came here to review the site for a university assignment but I enjoy all I find here and plan to stick around for as long as they will have me. I noticed recently that BtB is listed under the list of 'prison blogs' on the Wikipedia page which is available in many languages around the world so who knows where you may get contacted from as time goes by!
You've said here your life isn't easy and you want to hear from others to relieve yourself of the madness in your environment. I guess what I see in the blogs I read, and the replies I offer to many blog posts is that, it's not all that different for each and every one of us. Of course I don't mean to demean the difficulties of living in prison, I realize I can never understand that horror unless I lived it myself, but my point is that we all face our own challenges, we all want our existence to be acknowledged in the world and to be appreciated for who we truly are. That is why this site is so profoundly important. It connects us through our similarities rather than excluding us from each others worlds (which is the physical reality). I am very grateful for the gift BtB gives us, as I'm sure you are.
It's interesting that you ask for pictures of my part of the world, because I recently asked the administrators of BtB if we could add images to our posts and I'm pleased to say, it is something they are currently working on for us :) When I can do that for you through the site, I most definitely will.
I am sorry that I'm not in a position to write to you directly but I will keep reading & commenting on your posts if I find they relate to me or think I have something constructive to add. Thank you for your advice; they are words to live by :)
Hey, Brother Its about time you wrote again I enjoy reading your blogs. I really have been missing you Mom and I were just planning a visit soon and of course Mike and I will be there for thanksgiving I love you so much I am praying for you to go to this school! How is your Hebrew coming along.I am real happy to hear that you may be teaching some bible studies I know that would be a blessing.Keep the faith and we will see you soon .
RSS
You'll probably never know how much wisdom you actually passed on to us. Even if most of it was probably unintentional or through your mistakes that I learned some of my best lessons. For instance--the biggest thing that kept me from any experimentation in drugs and alcohol was the fact that I knew you'd catch me. Or the fact that you planted the seed of my love of fantasy and science fiction.
And yes, I still make my chocolate milk the way you taught me. It's a reflex. I don't think I can make it any other way. :)
Can't wait to see you at Christmas. At least it's only a few months away.
Love always--Amanda Jo
I was pleased to read in your blog that you cared enough to, not just genuinely apologize to your friend, but to do it in a public forum. I believed that if she cared enough to do all she did for you, that she would also respect your apology & this is what I was trying to convey.
I hope what you've learned out of this is that everything each and every one of us say & do has consequences for others - often in a way that we could never even imagine. For this reason, I choose to only ever say kind, positive or at least constructive things. That way I'm usually always assured of never unintentionally affecting or hurting another.
We all know genuine friends aren't easy to come by & I'm happy to see you are man enough to admit when you're wrong, to protect your important friendships. We all mess up (we're only human after all) & that's ok, but the true test of our humanity is in how we rectify the pain we cause. I'm glad you have such a kind & compassionate friend. Take care of her (and you).
Nicki
I'm not sure how popular BtB is in Australia but I'm pleased you're hearing from people from all over the world. I initially came here to review the site for a university assignment but I enjoy all I find here and plan to stick around for as long as they will have me. I noticed recently that BtB is listed under the list of 'prison blogs' on the Wikipedia page which is available in many languages around the world so who knows where you may get contacted from as time goes by!
You've said here your life isn't easy and you want to hear from others to relieve yourself of the madness in your environment. I guess what I see in the blogs I read, and the replies I offer to many blog posts is that, it's not all that different for each and every one of us. Of course I don't mean to demean the difficulties of living in prison, I realize I can never understand that horror unless I lived it myself, but my point is that we all face our own challenges, we all want our existence to be acknowledged in the world and to be appreciated for who we truly are. That is why this site is so profoundly important. It connects us through our similarities rather than excluding us from each others worlds (which is the physical reality). I am very grateful for the gift BtB gives us, as I'm sure you are.
It's interesting that you ask for pictures of my part of the world, because I recently asked the administrators of BtB if we could add images to our posts and I'm pleased to say, it is something they are currently working on for us :) When I can do that for you through the site, I most definitely will.
I am sorry that I'm not in a position to write to you directly but I will keep reading & commenting on your posts if I find they relate to me or think I have something constructive to add. Thank you for your advice; they are words to live by :)
Don't stop sharing! & Take care!!
Nicki
Jess from Florida!
Its about time you wrote again I enjoy reading your blogs. I really have been missing you Mom and I were just planning a visit soon and of course Mike and I will be there for thanksgiving
I love you so much I am praying for you to go to this school! How is your Hebrew coming along.I am real happy to hear that you may be teaching some bible studies I know that would be a blessing.Keep the faith and we will see you soon .
Love always Mary one of your favorite sisters!!