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Prison Pete

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Friday, August 20, 2004
  "Pen" Pals.
Besides Mom and Dad, I write to one 99-year-old former church member from NY, one 60-ish single woman with four kids, twelve or so grandkids, and ten great-grandkids who is a "pen pal throw away" from another inmate, a Presbyterian minister from NC, and last but not least, but certainly the youngest, you.

It is up to me to keep the various relationships moving. One of the many issues I have looked at in my life is what a two way relationship is really about.

I feel very grateful and hopeful about how our communication has grown in substance. Yes, patience is something I have certainly been getting better at with each passing day.

Please realize that what I am writing would be a lot easier to say in person, since instant feedback would assist me in understanding what you are "hearing" and to note which points are clear and which are not.

This is NOT meant to be a cop-out, that if something I write pisses you off I can say, well, what I meant was, BUT it is true that when one talks about feelings and all that great MUSHY stuff which I have come to realize is the stuff money cannot help cover or strengthen, communication is, or can be, a very slippery slope.

First of all, let me say that I have things I am dealing with that you cannot possibly understand on the surface, but as our communication continues, will become clearer. It is not, I realize, as easy as saying that I would expect you to say, oh, I get it, just like it is hard for me truly understand your fear or whatever you want to label the general ill feeling you have had since September 11.

What I have learned is that it would be easy for me to say to you: hey, snap out of it, you have no problems like I got. But life is not like that. It is much harder, but more life affirming, to be able to not seek to solve a life problem by looking at it through tunnel vision.
 
Comments:
Ed., do you forward our comments back to Pete?
 
Hello from Holland, or the Netherlands Prison Pete. I am going to read the rest of your input here to see what makes you tick. Sorry my site is in Dutch. My English is to "bad" to translate it all. It is my diary.
Hope Bill Gates put you in prison :)) (Dutch joke)
Keep on the faith and hope to write to you more.
 
Hello Pete,
Just wanted to let you know that you have a good writing style and that the idea to put up a blog about this is a good idea. Lots of people wonder about life in prison/jail, and its no wonder to me that blogger decided to add your blog to the blogs of note section. I wish my blog were good enough for that honor. I can only hope that things go for you as planned. It really doesnt matter why you are in prison as long as you have learned from the mistakes that had you put there in the first place. Hope that you keep your spirits up and that your life when you get released goes as planned. If you ever want/need another pen pal, Ive been a pen pal to all types of people. So take care until next post, keep in good spirits and take advantage of the prisons free exercise program. =)

~*~Lotus~*~
 
As an ex-con to a present one: Communication to the outside is so dependent on the right words that you tend to hang on every one of them hoping that they’ll do instead of being able to express yourself as yourself in person! If that makes any sense? However you are doing an excellent job of it! Keep up the legal appeals, never give up hope!
 
This is an interesting site, and I'd be pissed off if I were in prison and being limited to the number of books I could receive.
 
Hi Pete,

I'm curious about something, and I'll tell you now, I am naive when it comes to what things are like in prison. I'm curious what it was like for the inmates on September 11th? How did get updates? I assume you can watch TV, but not all the time...

Just curious.
 
dear pete: good blog, good read. however you state that "I have things I am dealing with that you cannot possibly understand on the surface." i sympathize to a certain extent, but as a victim of child sexual abuse and not even being close to recovered 25 years later, i have a feeling that maybe criminals aren't necessarily getting the short end of the stick. i hope, for your sake, no children were harmed by your hand, otherwise i'd imagine that prison would be painful in every single way. keep writing and good luck.
 
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