Pablo Piña D-28079
P.O. Box 5244 ASU-178*
Corcoran, Calif 93212

RE: (Post) The New Year

Dec. 31 2014

Greetings.

It's December 31st today. But it don't feel any different, it's just another day.
I woke up this morning, washed up like I always do, and noticed that we were late being fed. That may be because a lot of people didn't show up for work. The other day my glasses broke and I had to send them to get repaired. It's been two days now and it's not looking like I'm going to get them until after the new year arrives.
Which is not good for me because everything is real blurred, so I'm going to miss a lot of detail watching the celebrations on TV. And I like to watch the rose parade every year, but it's better with my glasses on.
Even though I'm sitting in my cell, it's going to be much better this year. I plan to make changes that I think are long over due.
I think this is because of my age; if I was younger it may not be possible.
I was a gang member all my life. I gave up my family, and loved ones were placed 2nd, if at all. Somehow I thought I would it would all be the same, nothing would change, but as I lost family members it began to sink in. Those who passed, I'd never see again. My daughter is full grown; has kids that I have never met. Hell, I've never met my daughter; she was a baby the last time I saw her.
Meanwhile, I sat in prison, 30 years in segregation units for disciplinary violations. And the time passed and years came and went. And my life seemed to go nowhere. Yes, I built a reputation for myself, and made friends and enemies.
The problem, though, is that once you have a rep, you will

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have to represent it often. I have always wished that I could live forever; young, strong, so I could do all the things that need to be done.
But life is not a fantasy, it's not a movie. I've grown older, slower, and I've learned that friends are few that last a lifetime. And someone always wants what you have, even though they couldn't hold your jockstrap, or maybe that's all they'd be good for. But that's why the backstabbing and lying and rumors start.
I'm glad that none of my nephews are involved in any of it. I'd hate to see them spend a lifetime honorably while others in the background plot against them.
I have lived a full life thus far. For my age I feel good, I'm still healthy, and I have always been smarter than the average Joe, and knowing my limits and knowing if I need a change.
Know when to find the exit before it's too late and you are sitting doing a life sentence or dead. Life is much too beautiful to waste away because you're hard-headed or [have] too much pride.
In the last few years I've had the opportunity to meet some very good people and family who have shown me they cared enough to write me and help me. Life is what we make it, but we must know when to make changes, too. Only a complete idiot wants to spend his life in prison. I have met a lot of lifers who wish they had another chance and think they're stuck, but are they really stuck with that life ?