Greetings… from prison

Some of the boys I work with end up in prison. Dion is 22 and in a federal prison doing time for racketeering, gun possession, and car theft. Talia, Greetings & salutations! I sincerely hope that this letter finds you in good health as well as good spirits. I’ve been going through my fair share of tribulations as of late but I’ve been doing my best to hold it down. It absolutely made my day to receive a letter from you! It has definitely been a minute since I’ve last heard from you. Though I take into consideration that you have a hectic schedule, the slightly ignorant part of mind makes me feel as if I’ve fell victim to the “out of sight out of mind” effect w/ the arrival of your letter, it is evident that I haven’t even come close and I apologize for trippin! What’s good w/ the “Villages w/o Walls”? It sounds like a force in waiting! A movement of monumental proportions which time will reveal at the appropriate moment! It also sounds like something I would love to be a part of. Can you elaborate on it a bit more in your next letter please? No, I wasn’t aware of the fact that you’re a mother of 2. Quite a blessing, isn’t it? (Motherhood, that is.) I think that I briefly discussed the loss of my unborn daughter of 7 ¼ weeks. The loss of perhaps the most beautiful thing ever to be created from my efforts is such an instrumental piece to the upper echelon of manhood that I’ve reached over the past 20 months. My baby girl proved to me that even the most expected things in life should never be taken for granted. I just wanted to give her everything that I never received in life. The shit still eats me to this day but I swear she’s in my ear, guiding the way & helping me maintain my sanity. You ain’t that old Talia! 32? I’ll be there before you know it! Beats didn’t get 15 years. As a matter of fact he was one of the more fortunate of the bunch. He received 37 months & he has about 11 more to go before he touches down. Speaking of sentencing, thank you very, very much for being able to attend my date on the 21st of Jan. Unfortunately, I’m currently being housed in the segregation unit. The hole [solitary confinement]. Just to let it be known it was absolutely necessary Talia. I’ve been in this jail for eleven months w/o any type of trouble. On Wednesday, a race riot of some sort broke out on my unit (Spanish vs. Blacks) over something miniscule that was ultimately blown out of proportion. A close associate of mine ended up exchanging blows w/ this Spanish cat then all hell broke loose. My unit is predominately populated w/ Hispanics by the way. The one on one fight turned into a 14 on one melee’. They we’re equipped w/ weapons of all types. Soap in a sock, crutches, sticks, dominoes tied in a sheet etc. & they proceeded to jump my homeboy. I intervened initially w/o throwing any blows. I just pushed individuals away from my man & that’s when someone hit me over the arm & head w/ a crutch. After that I began to defend myself the best way I know how. So its me & my boy scrapping w/ 14 people. We made out exceptionally well. I tried my hardest not to get involved violently but once I was struck w/ an object, I have no choice but to get busy. I’m currently awaiting discipline but the C.O’s [correction officers] have me under the impression that the ruling will be in my favor considering that I acted in self-defense. I hope this doesn’t disappoint you in any way. I tried to call you a couple of times but I never got through. Your cell # was disconnected at the time as well. I’ll call the news # in the near future. W/ that said, I’m calling it a night T. Keep in touch! W/ me & the Lord of course!!! I love you as well. Thanks you for everything. Goodnight. Much love & respect Dion