Just wondering :)
I used to write to someone in Cali (who, you all probably remember, sent me a highlited commissary list for Christmas...) but ended that a couple weeks ago. I also briefly wrote to someone in Texas, but his notoriety and 1/2 his age gf have gotten the better of him (he was on a Netflix doc). I JPay'ed with someone in NJ but when I forgot to send a reply stamp, he stopped replying..... (it's fine because we'd exchanged maybe 2 emails). And my most fave penpal is in Illinois. He's... amazing. We still write 10-12 page letters, he has emailing now so we send quick "thinking of you" notes throughout the week, and we have our first phone call set up. I have no plans to take on anymore penpals, and will be focusing on just the one in Illinois going forward.
So, what about you guys?
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IL, TX, AZ and PA. One letter back & forth with someone from RI as well, but this was better not to be continued, for various reasons. (And no, I did not "ghost" him. I wrote him a short, polite, but very clear letter, as to what I thought about his first (and only, thankfully) letter to me & wished him well and that was that.
TX took a while to "warm up", but just tonight I received a card which showed me why it was worth to give that half wild kitten a chance to get to know some strange human. It's getting better with every letter.
Just tonight I got a card. He usually sends letters, but that was a card. I just give you the text on the outside: " Good friends are like pizza for the soul- I'd know because your friendship has been one of God's most delightful deliveries."
And when I remember how reserved he was in the beginning, I'd never have thought he'd call me "friend", ever. Even if it's only printed on a card. It was him who chose it and sent it.
IL has just always been smooth and serene, never any real ups and downs, just flowing back & forth. My first pal & an easy one to start with.
PA, hm, difficult to say. I just don't know and I do not feel like going into details right now.
AZ, ok, I couldn't resist. But he's pouting right now and he's certainly the one I got the most, well, I wouldn't even say "conflicts" with, but he's certainly the one with the most "rollercoaster debates" qualities. We'll see. At the moment he's not doing well and I guess, I'm getting some of that, too.
VA and TX. I only write to my bf in TX now.
My VA pp lasted only two months, unfortunately. We just didn't have a lot of common interests which made our JPay exchanges quite stale. I did send him a Christmas card.
I had a pen-pal in Maine, he's getting married next month.
I had a pen-pal in Minnesota, and he sent me an email demanding I buy him stamps, he's gone.
I had a pen-pal in Michigan, but he was trying to take advantage of me (I let it slide) but when he asked me to do something and I questioned why, he emailed me with "your stupid." The wrong use of your still cracks me up.
I have 2 in Ohio, separate prisons. 1 is the love of my life, the other is a great guy.
My pen pal is incarcerated in a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
I have one at OSP and another in Mansfield. Which facility is your pen-pal in?
My pen pal is doing time at the Dayton Correctional Institution.
Right now, I have 4 penpals, as far as I know. The other one is soon to be released and I don't know if I'll hear from her.
Main guy is in AZ we are approaching 4 and a half years of correspondence. He was on WAP but is no longer.
Then I have a girl and a guy in CA. The girl I feel closer to than the guy, but the guy is nice enough.
Then I have a guy in NM. He's a nice enough guy but we just started writing and his state is really damn strict about everything, which makes it hard for me because I have to remember things about what not to send that don't exist otherwise.
In the past I've written to IL and TX extensively, I had penpals in both states that lasted for years but didn't work out. I've written to death row on TX as well.
I have one in Tennessee and one in Florida.
My Tennessee pal can only get snail mail. We have been doing that. It's slow and can be frustrating waiting on a letter in my mailbox. We decided to use the phone recently, which is nice. We are able to find a lot to talk about, when the phones are working. They drop calls a lot. I had not heard from her since Saturday. I found that most, if not all Tennessee prisons have been on lockdown since the murder of the Vice Lords gang chief in Memphis last weekend.
My Florida pal has use of CorrLinks. We use that every day. I send snail mail on occasion. Like she asked me for better pictures of myself and asked if I could print an old Norse Rune alphabet for her. We also talk on the phone but once or twice a week.
That's it for me. I am new to this and honestly did not know anything like this existed. One day I came home from work and when I turned the TV on it was Dr. Oz and they were talking about prison pen pals.
It made me remember my days in the US Navy, deployed on a submarine. We used to get family grams sent by family. Just short messages that you could not reply to. I remember how happy I was to get them. So now I want to do something for someone in prison.
Like many, I would not write to someone with specific crimes. I understand good people make bad choices and deserve a second chance. Maybe I can add some sort of happiness to someone's life, which I believe I am doing.
I had a couple ones in Texas, one in Oregon, and two in California. I write one in a federal prison through the BOP they're currently in Minnesota but they're native to Iowa. The one in MN is the only one I write to.
Gal pal in Michigan..guy in Arizona
Kirsten..you're in Europe..yes? Are you able to get phone calls from any of your PP's?
I just started writing to a woman in Ohio. My previous pen pals have been from Michigan, Nevada, Texas, Florida, and California.
@ Aurora
Which facility in Ohio is your pen-pal in?
He is in Colorado
The first guy I wrote to is in Virginia. Then I also wrote to another in Iowa, one woman in Florida, and another guy in West Virginia. I don't really know if any of them will respond yet. But I keep my fingers crossed. I used the email service of the site, so the letters will be forwarded on the 23rd.
Aw y'all are showing my home state (Virginia) some love!!!! <3 I've often thought about writing inmates here in VA but I've never found anyone who struck my fancy.
@Rins: oooh, where in CO? I was thinking about writing someone out there, but I wasn't sure how mail is. I've heard horror stories.
In Limon. Iam in Germany so snail mail takes one week. They don’t have the tablets anymore :( so we talk on the phone. I can send JPay but he can’t answer that way they print it out give it to him. Sorry about my English I try ;)
I can understand your English just fine :) how long have y'all been writing? It's been 4 months to the date with me and my Illinois pal.
9 month I was planing on visiting him January but I can’t so I probably go may. Have you visit your illiois pen pal? Or do you planing to visit him?
I haven't gone to see him yet, no. He's got a couple years left so there's plenty of time. I've been keeping my eyes open for legal conferences out there so I have an excuse to be in the area lol - you probably saw the other thread, we had our first call two days ago.
May will be much nicer to visit Colorado! Right now it's cold and snowy. May will be spring time and full of flowers and warmth. :)
Rins..I'm in Germany too..how much do the phone calls cost? My PP is in Arizona
It may be difficult to visit as we are not American ( background check) I was not allowed to visit my gal.pal in Michigan..
Oh why ? Iam already on his visiting list I was also approved for special visit but I had to cancel it. I don’t know the international phone cost we pay 0,12 cent a minute
Visas are hard to get but if you guys are european it shouldn’t be too hard.
Dutch, German and most British Citizens even do not need a visa to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less because their countries are Visa Waiver Program Designated Countries. They only need Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel.
I've been to the states several times..my fiance is an American...and lives in Michigan..the issue seemed to be that the prison my friend is in said they were unable to run a background check on me to enable me to visit my gal pal there..it was nothing to do with visa/estas
That sucks!
Have you tried to present them with any alternatives for a background check like a certificate of good conduct issued by the competent German authority with attached thereto a translation into English of that certificate by a sworn translator?
I am a sworn translator...but yes..I did take a certificate of good conduct from the German police..a letter of indtroduction from my employer..I'm guessing someone took them to the bathroom next time they went..cos it all fell on deaf ears..
I feel very sorry for you.
The way you are treated by them is ridiculous as well as totally devoid of any logic. As you are a foreigner the Feds have already performed background check on you and if you would have a criminal record, you would simply have been denied entry to the United States.
Reynout, my pen pal is in Dayton CI.
Aurora, what an interesting coincidence! My pen pal is in Dayton C.I. too.
Reynout..exactly...
Maybe y'all have the same pal lol - god idk what i'd do if that happened.
It happened to me on another forum. Thankfully it was in relation to this one and I don't want to write her anymore.
https://www.change.org/p/paul-zellerbach-riverside-county-district-atto…
Huh? That's not really likely...lol
I also have a pen pal in Ohio Department of Rehabilitation
Been chatting since late last year :)
I've only wrote to Arizona and Ohio.
Ohio makes you realise how bad Arizona have got it!
Where is your Az guy at ShadeyBiz89?
I have one guy in Telford Unit, Texas, who recently introduced me to his friend, so I gues *two* in that prison lol. One in state pen. in Colorado, and one on death row in Arizona.
@IL_PPP regarding the commissary list, I also got one of those from my PP this Christmas, but not asking for stuff! They had ordered a load of stuff and then it didn't get delivered so they didn't get all their treats for xmas. He sent me the list as proof of what he'd ordered vs what he didn't get lol.
My two are from TX and WA! My WA pal has access to a JPay kiosk, so it's pretty fun talking with him more frequently although he's definitely a high volume penpal, lol. My TX pal can receive JPays but has to write back via snail mail, which means we have a little more of a relaxed turnaround. Initially when I started writing, I'd planned to move up to three penpals, but right now the WA guy is keeping me busy enough that I've got my hands full with these two. :)
But yeah, I agree about Texas-- obviously prison isn't a cakewalk for anyone, but the first time I heard back from my TX pal he just sounded so sad and beaten up (he also recently just got moved to ad seg, so that probably had a lot to do with it). It prompted me to dig a little deeper into the TX prison system and hoo boy, it sounds like a whole mess down there.
@Reyenah: Ah yeah, see, mine would always drop hints and links to website for care packages and mp3s, and go one about "well we have popcorn for movies but not everyone can afford it so I don't like to eat mine because of that." I last wrote him early January, saying this is over, and he hasn't responded.
Which prison is your Ohio pen-pal in?