We all make mistakes, and I suspect one of the biggest we make is to believe that the internet will relieve all of our worries, cleanse our souls, and provide the answer to the meaning of life through a dating service or, better yet, the promise of ten million dollars and a new BMW SUV…

My first thought, before I even turn to the task – and pleasure – of writing my letter – is the hope that this missive safely arrives at its destination. I have been through all the hoops recommended by the official sources, predominantly the government web site, to try and find the information needed just…

This is probably not the letter you were expecting, but life is filled with strange turns and hidden pathways on our journey to wherever this existence might lead, if it leads anywhere at all. Sometimes, as I have learned over many years of travelling, we find what we have been looking for without knowing we’ve…

Before I begin with introductions and explanations, a word on what I have read and understood from the Michigan Department of Corrections Policy Directive: Prisoner Mail, Directive 05.03.118 from 6 November 2023. Prisoners may receive mail from private individuals, not exceeding twelve single sided pages, which is then photocopied and forwarded to the recipient, with…

I’m not exactly sure what happened here, certainly not a glitch in the matrix or anything similar, but I’ve had the feeling something is not working quite as it should for a few months. Now and then my letters will appear on top of the communal letterbox unit, rather than in my little slot, even…

Something of a hectic time here at the moment, with plenty to do, plenty to organise, and hardly any free time to get out and do the things I’d like to do most. Not that this is holding me back, which makes the things I have to do a little more stressful for others as…

I’m not sure whether I should be feeling sorrier for myself, or for my neighbour’s fish. We’re all suffering from the cold, some considerably more than others, but at least I can move from one place to another and seek out the warmest room in my house. The fish are trapped under ice in their…

By now I hope that you have received various answers to your examinations, and the questions raised on your clemency, both of which you mentioned in your last letter which, for some strange reason, only recently made it over here. I was thinking that there must be a strike in one of the countries then…

A complete lack of organisation in an institution which should run as if oiled by the smoothest system ever invented comes as no real surprise to me. There are so many where things have been running according to a set of rules, which have rarely been changed or checked, simply because that is the way…

In consideration of the cold, wind-chill world you are living in, the worst experience for cold weather that I have had in recent years is working by -10°C for four hours outside, as I waited for a few speeding cars to make my day. This was before the department decided to replace its cars with…