Hello everybody! It's been a while since my last update, so I thought I'd drop in and say Hi, and tell you what I've been up to lately, besides goofing off. :p
I know I mentioned joining a website to find pen pals, but I didn't mention other websites I had started looking at as well. I won't go into all the details behind my choosing to do this, because doing that would involve discussing a family member's private life, and I have no intention of doing such a thing. What I'm talking about is prison correspondence, i.e. inmate pen pals.
Some may think me crazy for seeking out criminals and writing to them. Maybe I am, but that's not stopping me. It goes without saying that prison is a terrible place, no matter how long or short your sentence is. Inside are some of the most lonely people you'll ever find. I'm not fool enough to believe they're all a nice friendly sort, but I do believe most of them aren't pure evil. They're just a little rough around the edges.
I found three guys on two different websites and sent out intro letters to all of them. As of this morning, all three have written me back, and I've already sent my reply letters to the first two. (I'll start my reply for the third today or tomorrow.) I won't tell you their crimes; that's not important. (Nor is it really anybody's business unless they want me to tell you, which I can predict they probably won't.)
I'm not stupid; I've heard the stories of prisoners who try to get their pen pals to send them money, or are only interested in using the pen pal service as a way to find a girlfriend. I chose my pen pals carefully. When I read the ads, I was not only reading what they said, but how they said it. In other words, if I got the feeling they were trying to "sell themselves" by acting friendly and intelligent (i.e. "bullshitting" ), then I disregarded the ad. Out of the dozens I looked through, I found three that sounded genuine and worth my time. That was about three weeks ago, and already I can see that my instincts were right.
I don't recommend prison correspondence for everyone. It's an unfortunate truth that some prisoners shouldn't be trusted, and that you should always be careful how much information you're giving them. However, not everyone there is a bad person. They've done bad things, but I like giving people a chance to redeem themselves. A lot of them are honest in their ads and say they are seeking letters from "that special lady". But just as many of them are happy with whoever writes them, because they want friends.
Even after all this rambling, I haven't told you why I like doing this. Of course I liked having a pen pal, period. But when I got my first reply from Billy (first names only, thank you very much), he told me that I was the first and only person that responded to his ad. That made me feel like I had done something special, and that I was important to him in a manner of speaking. In a way, he was counting on me to be his friend. I felt like "Super-Friend" or something. =P
But yeah, aside from a boost to my own self-esteem, I like making people feel like they're important too. So that's what I'm doing. I'm reminding these guys that just because they're in prison doesn't mean they're any less of a person. And that makes me happy.
Before anyone asks: One is in Texas, the other two in Oregon, and yes I did set up a P.O. Box. I'm friendly, but I'm also protective of my own ass, figuratively speaking. And I do not and will not send them money, not that they've asked. Honestly, right now I have no money to send even if they did ask! :p
For some reason this post feels really scatter-brained, but I'll just end it here instead of trying to figure out what's wrong with it. Bottom line is, if you think you're up to it, then look into it. Like I said, wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I know I'm not the only person like me in the world. So if you're out there and you're reading this, give it a shot. You'd be surprised how rewarding it is.
~G~
prison
