Mail Order Food. The damn typewriter ribbon started catching. It is the original ribbon that came with the machine and is less than half used. Certainly not a good omen.

I wanted to take my shower before 8:00 PM to catch the start of the symphony broadcast that starts at 8:00 PM. Unfortunately everyone else seems to want to take their shower at this time too.

So I am starting to type out a letter to you. It is done using new carbon paper and at the 12 CPI spacing. Just for an experiment let me know if it can be scanned by the OCR software. If it has trouble reading certain characters, it may be I need to use the 10 CPI. I need to figure out the cost of the carbon paper, but if I can use a sheet for five or ten pages, the carbon should be cheaper than the ribbon. Just one of those things to look into.

The missing parts of letters on this letter are from the sticky ribbon. Maybe you could find out if there is a store-brand available and what the cost is?

The Russell Hobbs hot pot on Amazon.com is exactly the one I can get and that the other inmates recommend. Would you be willing to buy it for me? I could have Mom and Dad send you a check if that would help.

My parents have decided to not send me any more food. They are willing to order it from the various catalogs but are tired of doing their own packing and shipping. They are also not willing to order stuff online. The main problem is what I really like to get is the fresh fruit and veggies. But for now I am working on getting the basics and getting the damn appeal out.

The ribbon is still sticking. Damn.

Let me go check the shower.

Well, I just got back from the shower and the concert just started. I only caught that it was an Igor Stravinsky piece but not the name. Well, it is not Firebird that is for sure.

I am typing out this letter directly as I go. Without trying to overburden you, I just want you to think about if you would be willing to occasionally order stuff online for me. I am thinking about maybe once a month getting some treat foods in. I could have Mom and Dad send you the funds and then you would be able to order things at your leisure. You would not need to check with my Mom and Dad at all since they would not be sending anything.

While there is a whole bunch of stuff that some of the guys get sent in such as precooked hamburger meat, etc., at this point I want to get back to my same-thing-each-day menu, eating items that are available from the commissary.

It looks like I will be eating plain oatmeal for breakfast (2nd Violin Concerto by Bartok is the next piece up), tuna salad with mustard, not mayo, and peanut butter or cheese sandwiches for the third meal. I will occasionally eat a meal in the chow hall; for example, tonight was one slice of rectangle pizza.

So once a month you might send me some clam sauce, anchovies, and canned tomatoes. They sell pasta in the commissary along with plain tomato sauce. One of the inmates said that you could order food at walmart.com

What we would do is send in a sample order of certain things to be sure each product was allowed, and then once a month you would simply be able to surprise me with some special meals.

I am not trying to overwhelm you. The point is that I would be totally self-sufficient from commissary; the stuff you buy would all be bonus and probably twenty items or less. Let me know if you are interested. As I said, Mom and Dad are "funny" about certain things, but have no problem with other things. Since some of the food stuff on the web would be shipped free, it just makes it easier.

I know this letter is a rough draft format, but to be honest I am sort of typed out right now and pissed at the ribbon. Tomorrow's project is to do some more typing suitable for the blog.  ¶ 9:29 AM