vtni
1-6-18

Hey John,

Long time no see. I remembered you the very second I saw your username at the top of your letter. I'm glad to see I haven't lost my touch at giving you something enjoyable to read. Naturally, I'm always trying to come up with something else. However, it takes time to get my imagination in gear, or usually some kind of oddball circumstance that I think you all might find interesting.

I don't know if you noticed, but I redesigned my profile page. I hope you don't mind me using a couple of your quotes without your permission (Bosom, ol' buddy, good ol' pal, lifelong friend). It's not like I could just send you a letter and ask. I really believe it will be much more effective at grasping the attention of possible readers.

As far as the show 60 Days In goes, I've never even heard of it. So I went around asking and found a guy who, while he was in county jail, watched it all the time. He always found it quite interesting and said that in regards to it appearing to be like the real thing, he had only come across a couple of situations that didn't seem for real. Keep in mind that the show is based on jail life, not prison life. So you don't go around the premises for rec, canteen, chow, classes, and stuff like that. You also have more guys coming and going; some guys don't start causing trouble until they get settled and comfortable with their surroundings.

When you mentioned about the "birthday beatdown", you had me thinking the poor guy was left mutilated in a pool of blood after half a dozen guys beat him up. However, my informant explained that it is nothing more than an action carried out (usually amongst gits) where, if it is a guy's birthday, his buddies throughout the day will punch him in the arm or body and say, "Happy birthday boy!" How many times he gets hit depends upon how old he is. I personally just keep quiet about my birthday, but it is printed on my ID card that I have to wear.

The biggest to-do I have ever encountered on my birthday was back in 2010, when I had to spend a few months at a medical camp (which, by the way, was all open-bay). I wound up taking control of the laundry activities there, and I guess the guys were happy with my work. I say this because on my birthday, when I returned from dinner, I found my bunk half covered with various canteen items and a birthday card on my pillow signed by everybody. Just another good example of the inconsistency of prison life that I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs.

Well, hope I was able to be of some help. Be sure to keep in touch, but how about not waiting 4-5 years next time. :)

MAZE