by Snaptura Prison Consultants
As you think about what to write in your first letter to a new pen pal, allow us to put some things into perspective. Often, the things we take for granted, here in the free world, could be a dream come true for a man or woman who is locked up. Even if you write about what you deem to be a boring part of your day, your inmate pen pal may find it truly incredible. We’ve adapted a blog, originally published on Inmate Blogger in 2016, from an inmate describing the things he hadn’t been able to do in almost a decade. We found this to be truly eye-opening, and we hope you do as well.
It would be so nice to get out, if only for a day. I wouldn’t need to do anything extravagant. No trips to Disneyland or to the south of France. It’s the simple things I miss the most. The things I always took for granted. The things I didn’t realize I enjoyed…until I couldn’t do them any longer. The things I haven’t been able to do for almost 10 years.
If I were out, only for a day, I would:
- Ride an escalator and an elevator
- Drive a car through town and honk my horn
- Parallel park
- Smile at the barista when she tells me to have a great day
- Go swimming, or relax in a hotel jacuzzi
- Order a glazed buttermilk bar from a local donut shop and inhale the scent of fresh donuts wafting through the air
- Take a dog on a walk
- Fill up a fountain drink at the gas station minimart, and buy some beef jerky
- Use a Keurig K-Cup machine for the first time
- Take a shower with bare feet
- Watch a movie in the theater with my parents, and use the cup holder for an extra large soda
- Mix junior mints into my popcorn
- Touch real money — it looks so different now!
- Open a refrigerator door
- Play a board game
- Browse through a used bookstore
- Watch Netflix for the first time
- Hear a telephone ring and be excited that for the first time in forever, someone is actually calling ME
- Google some song lyrics I keep thinking of (who sings that?!)
- Wash my clothes in my own washing machine
- Use a vacuum cleaner
- Use a lint roller on my blankets
- Go for a walk at 2 AM, just because I can
- Play ping pong, or play basketball in the park
- Eat lunch at a restaurant and be able to choose items from an actual menu
- Order a cookies and cream frozen yogurt
- Use metal utensils
- Use a smartphone for the first time
- Sing in the shower
- Use a private bathroom
- Walk barefoot on the carpet
- Use a Fusion-5 razor and good quality shaving gel
- Get a haircut at a fancy salon
- Take a quick walk through Target
- Go bowling
- Get a Swedish massage at the local day spa
OK, I realize this might be a little too much to squeeze into 24 hours. For one day, though, I’d love to go back to how things used to be. Just a day. That’s all I ask.
