Libbie brings up the point of how young some inmates were when they began their sentences. I write to one guy who is now 41 and has been in prison for 25 years, since he was 16. While we hear of some prisons with TVs and movie nights and organized sports and canteens, his is not at all like any of those. There is no dining hall, meals are served in the cell. There is no canteen, though all of his basic toiletries are provided. You shower alone. There is no gym, so you do exercises in your cell. You are allowed to walk in a small enclosed courtyard for 30 minutes each day, also alone. There are no classes. There are no jobs. You are allowed to check out one book per month from the library cart that goes around to the cells. He reads each book 4 or 5 times and has almost memorized some! (The librarian is nice though and sometimes "forgets" that he has already had his book for the month and lets him have a second.)

He is allowed one 30-minute visit per month and 2 15-minute phone calls, but those are reserved for his mother, who has stayed with him through all of these years.

My correspondence with him is the only other outlet he has to a world he will never know nor see again. His mother writes but only talks about family stuff and his old neighborhood, which he likes. But with me, he hears about his favorite sports teams and players who weren't even born when he went inside. I do 4 or 5 page summaries of movies or tv shows or news events. I also send him clippings from magazines and newspapers but they only allow one inserted clipping per letter. He likes magazine photos of the latest cars and gadgets and sports stars.

This would have to be my favorite inmate penpal. He is my buddy and will be till one of us dies.