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11-12-13

Mommystime3,

I don't know if I can be of any help. For one, I've never had any kids of my own. I came to the conclusion they were too much of a responsibility when I was in college. I have heard of some programs (you might want to check the Internet) that inform the younger crowd what they're headed for. I think one of them is called Scared Straight. I realize most of my writing is many times on the humorous side, but like the old saying goes, "Laughter is the best medicine". And believe me, you need to come up with any kind of a reason to laugh in this place. But I'll set aside the humor & see if I can maybe open his eyes to what lies ahead. Also, you might want to let him read my response letter to a woman named Michelle, who sent me a letter about 4 days after you did. I sent both of your reply letters on the same day.

Hey 14.5, apparently you seem to have a mother who's a bit concerned about you. You're a lucky guy. But things aren't going to be so lucky for you, if you continue to go in the direction that leads you in here. Let me just point out a few of the simple things that you are no longer going to have. First, naturally, is your freedom. Losing your freedom to do what you want & to be yourself includes a lot of factors in your entire lifestyle. So when you go to sleep tonight, I want you to lie there & really think about all these things you'll be giving up your choice at doing.

Your choice of:
What you eat & how long you have to eat it.

My weight has fluctuated from 160lbs to 130lbs, depending on the camp I was at.

When you wake up.

At the camp I'm at now 5 a.m. is when your door is going to pop open to start your day. 5:30 is the latest I've seen at another camp.

Who you live in a 7' x 10' cell with.

This will make all the difference in the world as to how your time inside goes. But when you take into consideration the type of guys who are in prison, what do you think your chances are of getting a decent bunkie?

What clothes you wear.

With the way the prison system has gone to pot in the last 10 years, you're lucky to get unused clothes at the 6 month exchange. Imagine being handed a pair of boxers that have brown stains on the back & yellow stains on the front. Or where one of your socks has a bigger hole in it than the one you put your foot in.

What you'll watch on T.V. (if it works)

And even if it's something you like, you won't be able to hear it above the idiots yelling & screaming in the day room. Unless the camp has the set up to hear it over your radio. The last 2 I've been at haven't had it.

What you'll have in your locker that you can call your own.

If the officers don't consider it contraband and take it, then the other inmates will. I can pick a lock open in less than 10 seconds and then take a paper clip & find out the combination in less than 5 minutes. And I'm not even a thief. Back a few months ago, during a transfer, I had about $150 worth of property stolen. Stuff I had built up through the years, gone. Just like that.

What you'll dream about.

This may sound a little weird, but all my life I have always enjoyed my dreams at night. And in here they were a form of an escape from this prison life. But after about 4 years of being locked up, I started realizing that my dreams were being corrupted with prison concepts. If I was dreaming about being out in the free world, all the people would be wearing prison clothes. Or maybe I would see razor wire fences in the background, like I have to see when I'm awake. So your mind is another thing you will lose the choice of keeping straight.

As I'm sitting here on my bunk writing this, I just noticed an ant crawling across my leg. These little pests will literally chew through the plastic of a sleeve of saltine crackers in my locker and then have a feast with all his buddies. But in prison you can't choose to have a problem like that taken care of. The light in my cell here doesn't work, but I have no choice in the matter. After I hit the water button in the sink, it won't shut off unless I take the cap from a tube of gel & force it into the hole for about 20 seconds, but it ain't gonna get fixed by my request. I'm not talking about different things I've had to put up with at different camps. I'm describing my cell right here & now. Don't go letting yourself be drawn into the wrong direction when you're still young enough to make that change with ease.

Now as much as I hate to admit this, one of my sources informed me that no matter what, some guys are just destined to wind up in prison. His quote is, "He's willing to trade his bed for a bunk and trade his woman for a punk." Like you just have to end up in here to finally learn your lesson. Well, if he's right & you just don't have enough self control to keep yourself out of trouble, at least do this. Don't waste your time while you're in here. In here (depending on which camp you're at) there are programs for taking the G.E.D. test, small engine repair, computer programming, accounting, how to teach and many others. And best of all, they're absolutely free. So you'll have no excuses, considering all the extra time you'll have. That way when you get released you'll have no reason to go back to the way of life that got you put in here to begin with.

I really hope you take into consideration everything I've written & if you have any questions please feel free to ask. Yeah, that's right. One of my biggest highlights in life, now that I'm in prison, is hearing my name get called & being handed an envelope filled with letters from people I don't even know. Don't mess up, man.

Maze