Staying Strong

I started writing people in prison years ago. I started by writing the Son of Sam. He goes by the Son of Hope or let's call him by his real natural name David Berkowitz. He is so sweet. I went on from there and started writing to more people that were behind bars. I wrote Julius Jones and Rosa Jimenez. They were fighting for their freedom. This was many years ago when I started writing my friends behind bars. When I did this it opened my eyes more to how hard it is on them.

Don't get me wrong because I know they have to do their time for the crime they did.

I thought about why I write to all my friends behind bars. I call them my friends because I write them enough to get to know them to call them my friends. Also, I don't want the bars to stand in the way of getting to know a person.

Writing to someone in prison helps them out as much as myself. It helps the recidivism out too. It helps you out as well if you decide to write to someone. You will end up receiving so much out of becoming a pen pal with someone behind bars. This is only a suggestion. It is not for everyone. I have become friends and I look forward to my next letter.

The recidivism of inmates, once they get out of prison is high in the US. Unfortunately, that is something they will stuggle with and have to try to keep from breaking any laws. If you write to someone in prison you do not give any personal information away about yourself. You can give a little bit of information away like obvious stuff like your age or what you do for fun like for instance an art class.

During this time, I have met some very nice and interesting people in prison.

Oh, by the way, I don't really tell people, but I'm ordained. I'm an ordained minister. That's a story within itself, on why I got ordained. Actually, a lot of people get ordained for reasons of marrying people like their friends or maybe for the title itself. However, I got it to write people in prison. I did that years ago. I didn't want to make any romantic relationships, but I have made great friends. They don't have a lot of people to talk to or have people writing to them.

A couple of people I wrote in the beginning, I was writing to help get out. I started writing people in prison to help get them exonerated. This was only to inmates that were arrested wrongly. I was writing the Parole Board and the Attorney General. I was writing to those that were fighting to get their freedom because they never did the crime. I was writing to prisoners that were in prison just doing their time as well.

One of my friends' friend is in prison. I have been writing her. She has done a lot of time in prison. One of my friends is family with friends of mine. She has expressed that she works in the kitchen. I have let her know that she and I are the same in that way because I do kitchen work too. I was thinking of her when I was cleaning my dishes in the sink at home tonight. I have met a lot of different people writing to those behind bars. I have friends even on death row. I have a great friend who is so kind that is on death row.

I feel the difference between my sink at home and the sink that my friend has in the prison. Her sink is different a lot in many ways. I know she hurts physically too. She tells me about her physical pains. She has been moved from the kitchen to another workplace.

I watched the movie Dead Man Walking directed by Tim Robbins. That is a great movie. This is a great movie and deserves to be watched. All the actors did an excellent job in prevailing the emotions of the actions of what was going on. Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn just knocked it out how good they did.

I write to some letting them know that it's going to be okay. I read some letters that express sorrow and depression. I let them know that it is going to be okay. To stay strong and be above it. I read the prison politics which is how angry and sorrow the prisoners get just being there. I have read in the letters I receive that they start getting depressed and angry at their neighbors. I let them know to be above it, and to stay strong. You have to be stronger than the bad energy that is going around you. You have to be the good energy and express the best around yourself. You have to just be above it.

I guess this actually can go anywhere not just within the cages of our prisons. Where ever you are, and you have bad energy surrounding you, just be above it in your mind. Your mind is what is going to control you. Your mind is stronger than everything around you. You can control and be above it.

Be positive in whatever situation you are in. I know this because I have been in some terrible situations in my life, but they have worked out in the end. You have to just stay strong.