April 14, 2011

Hard Times of a Drifter

by William Martin

Transcription

Hard Time's of a Drifter

I would like to begin by saying "Thank You", for taking the time to stop and read my posting. It is my first and I will certainly post more in the future.
I wish to explain my heading real quick. I felt it only appropriate to use the term "Hard Time" as it is exactly what I am doing, more or less. Now the "Drifter" part is the name I've managed to have attached to me while in prison. I think most everyone in prison has a moniker attached to them whether they came from the streets with it or like me they managed to pick it up while in prison. It's quite cliché to be honest.
The moniker "Drifter" suits me quite well though. This one word actually manages to sums up my life fairly accurately. Before coming to prison the majority of my life was spent traveling the road. I never had an initial destination except for the next town or city on my map. There was no planning. Where's the fun in that? I was always up for adventure, excitement and new experiences and of course, I still am.
So let me tell you a little about myself. I'm currently in prison serving an 8-20 year sentence which I'm already more than halfway through with, thank goodness :). I am a 27 year old white male from Mississippi. As I stated early I love to travel. I've travelled all over the streets and a lot of Canada. It is my sincere hope that I will one day be able to travel abroad. Europe especially. I'm really big into exotic foods and dishes. If it's a Japanese or Chinese dish then you can most assuredly count on me enjoying it. I also enjoy cooking and appreciate those that can also cook.
As of this moment I am single but am of the hope that I might be able to change that little aspect of my life. I do not smoke but don't begrudge anyone that does as I did smoke at one point in my life. Nasty habit it was but I feel so much better now that I've let it go. I spend a lot of my time working out and staying in shape. Being in here there isn't much else to do besides really enjoy doing. There's not much I won't read but my favourite subjects to read are those that deal with Comparative Religion, Theosophy, Occult or those thereof. I am a follower of no path nor way of life. I tend to stay away from religious places and groups as my views and beliefs differ greatly from mainstream societies. Aside from this particular area of reading I usually read Fantasy or Horror. I'm also an avid lover of the outdoors. Whether it's camping, fishing, hiking, picnicking, or whatever you can count me in. There's nothing I love more than being in the middle of nature.
Well that's just a short piece about me. As I said I will post more in the future and at that time I will hit on a variety of topics. One of my main topics, as you will come to see, will mostly be about prison and my incarceration. One of my goals that I do have with this blogging site is to reach out to the world beyond these prison walls and connect with the world. Whether you are male, female, or other, I hold no biases. I wish to converse with everyone who wishes to write and I will write to all that write me. Any who do write please feel free to ask me anything and please don't hesitate to tell me all about yourself.

Sincerely,
William Martin #95529
P.O. Box 650
Indian Springs, Nevada 89018

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chris Posted 12 years, 11 months ago. ✓ Mailed 12 years, 10 months ago   Favorite
Hey William,

I enjoyed reading your blog letter. That sounds exciting traveling from town to town with no intended destination. Did you meet many other like-minded drifter types on the road as well?

I somewhat envy your experiences, the majority of my life has taken place in the same city (Auckland, New Zealand). And within that city, a busy routine of study, work, friends, food shopping etc renders most of my life playing out in the same couple of neighborhoods.

I'd like to travel more though, especially to America. Lots of our culture here (food, films, music, news etc etc) comes from America. I would like to see how America really is as most of what I know about your country comes from representations in the media or the internet.

I also appreciate good food, especially simple and fresh stuff like pasta and a good salad. What kinds of food do they feed you at the prison?

You mentioned there is very strong religious groups where you are? New Zealand is apparently one of the least religious countries in the world. We still have plenty of religious groups, but religion here seems to be on more of a personal, individual basis. You don't often hear of any religious groups trying to impose their beliefs on others. The more fundamentalist believers seem to only come out late on a Friday night holding up signs about doomsday. But they are a very small group and don't really have any real influence over others.

Do religious groups have a presence in the prison at all?


Thanks for reading, take care

Chris

leeleemagee Posted 12 years, 7 months ago. ✓ Mailed 12 years, 7 months ago   Favorite
Happy Birthday Jake..Sure wish we could have spent it togather..Hopefully one day we will..I have been leaving comments here..But they are gone now..?..If I am not supposed to..Please let me know..I just feel closer to U here for some reason..Love U Sweetie..Mom..

kat3005 Posted 6 years, 8 months ago. ✓ Mailed 6 years, 7 months ago   Favorite
Thanks for writing! I finished the transcription for your post.

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