It's me again. I've heard from two or three of you that it is overdue to write. Nice to know so many are reading it. Just kidding. I know it's at least double that amount. But such is the life of the lowly prisoner. But I digress.

Just an update: now you're caught up. That really is the way it is in here. So little changes that you can't think of much to write about. When I got to prison it was such a culture shock, I could write four and five page letters. Now after eight years, it seems I have to struggle for it. I never knew boredom before this!

Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "If you want total security, go to prison. There you get fed, clothed, and get medical treatment. The only thing you give up is freedom." I'm assuming our good president said it in jest, but believe me, you really can't put a price on your freedom. Some of the old timers have told me that the food used to be good, you wore street clothes, and you did get decent medical. But that is no more, none of it. So stay free.

I remember watching a PBS special a while back on the arctic glaciers. The guys would walk across miles of flat ice, miles across and deep. It was so white they had to place flags to mark their way. Then suddenly the ice would start to rumble. It heaves and shifts, and huge cracks from immeasurable amounts of appear. They look back at what was moments before flat ice and now see big deep ravines everywhere, maybe a new lake. Their whole world changed in seconds. Prison is like that. It throws you down that rabbit hole into madness without even the benefit of a tea party.

So the moral of this lesson is that if you're even thinking of committing a crime, don't! Trust me. It is not even worth it. Say all your prayers, eat all your vegetables, and hope the planets line up and things will work out. Till next time...