The old-fashioned art of letter writing. Thank You! I was waiting, not too patiently, for your letter. And alas you wrote a great letter. Yes, life is faster with email, but as you say, old-fashioned letter writing is not only an art form but also a true gift of oneself.

And for that blessing I am honored. It is so hard to find true friends in todays busy "me me" lifestyle, but we can do it. My perspectives on life and how to live it have obviously undergone some drastic rethinking in the last few years and I hope to be able to share my journey with you as you also feel you can share with me.

BTW all letters are opened before I get them. They are checked to be sure they contain no contraband, prison lingo for the stuff we cannot possess. The specific items include no stamps, body hair, plant seeds, or clippings from plants. So please be sure to keep those curly locks from sneaking into each envelope.

As far as what you can send me: short of blueprints, escape plans, nude pictures, or direct correspondence from another prisoner, any subject matter is pretty much OK.

Yes, I can receive photos, although they frown on the Polaroid type as you might hide drugs between the layers. I would love any picture of the outside world and will certainly send you one of me as soon as I can get one. The process takes about two weeks.

First I buy a ticket for $1.00 at my weekly commissary shopping then I go to the Rec yard on a Sunday evening and wait around with 200 to 300 of my close, favorite inmates to have a 35mm picture snapped. Then they are sent out to be developed and come back to our crack investigative staff for review to make sure that no secret signals are being sent out via the photo! Eventually you will get the photo.  ¶ 10:00 AM