Recent Correspondence

April 17, 1998

Hello again, friend. I received your most recent letter in the mail on April 13th. It was good to hear from you again. "Leather & Lace" is on now which is by Stevie Nicks w/Don Henley. It is 5:20pm as I begin this, so I want to have it done by the time 8:30 or so rolls around. Our days are beginning to get warm again, so it won't be long until summer sets in. I see that you'd just gotten my letter from the Prison Concerns office, & apparently it was being held for some while, eh? "It's so easy," by Linda Rondstadt is on now. I'm listening to a station that plays music from the 70's, 80's, & 90's which makes for a wide variety. Now, it's "Rocket Man" by Elton John.

I see that you've been trying to find a better way to get my letters, although Prison Concerns doesn't recommend that you give me your home address, so that's not much of an option, huh? Yes, I am on Florida's condemned row, but that should have no influence on how you & I correspond. IF it does, WHAT'S the use in me writing...

"Down Under," by 'Men at Work' is on now. No, I didn't go into much detail as to why I'm on condemned row since my mail is read by prison staff, so it isn't wise to discuss details of my case... In their opinion, we don't deserve to have mail, since it isn't considered to be a guaranteed right but merely a privilege. Either way you look at it, it doesn't matter what put me on condemned row. If you feel otherwise, let me know. I was convicted of only ONE homicide, so I am not a serial killer, etc., so I see a variety of such people, even though I don't associate with any of them. "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot is the song that was just on.

I see that you were listening to Paul Simon's latest CD, which is the soundtrack to his new Broadway musical? I've seen the one you're talking about mentioned on TV, so I know which one you mean. I'm not very familiar with the actual case aside from what you said, plus, what I've seen on TV, etc. Yes, he was an indigent Puerto Rican immigrant that got mixed up with some gang of thugs, so it was unfortunate for all involved. Since that fella coincidentally ended up killing 2 youths in NYC, I can see how the Broadway production is stirring up quite a lot of chaos...

So, you also like Sting's music, and you've got a couple of his CD's? Since you mainly enjoy ballads, & songs of love stories it doesn't surprise me that Paul Simon, Billy Joel, & Phil Collins are 3 of your favorites. "That's What Love is For," by Amy Grant is on now. Since you've been to Japan, I guess that's why you've taken a liking to a couple groups from there, huh?

No, I've never read the book "Catcher in the Rye," but I've heard about it. With only less than one month left before you graduate, I guess your life is moving along at a fast pace, & you can hardly wait until you finish the CPA exam. I can imagine how much of a surprise it had been when you were told about the seven minute graduation speech you were asked to give, since there will be over 4000 people attending the ceremony. Wow! "Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves," by Cher is on now. Oh, so it will be all of the accounting & economics grads for this year? As for the speech you drafted up, it looked fine to me, Elias. I don't see where it could be improved upon. :) "Nights on Broadway," by 'The Bee-Gees' is on now.

I see that immediately following your graduation, you're planning on a long trip, which includes a cycling tour around Illinois & Wisconsin, followed by a cycling trip from Madrid to Rome, eh? That sure would be nice if you were able to meet up with some friends in Rome, as well as seeing some friends in Turkey. As you said, it will provide you with the opportunity to get away from it all:) Once you begin your full-time job in September, you won't have the flexibility you now do, so it's best to take advantage of it while the time is available:) I see that you've already acquired plane tickets, so your plans seem to be coming together nicely, huh? You said you intend on being gone beginning June 1st- Sept 1st, so I hope you have a good time of it all.

"Rockin Down the Highway," by 'The Doobie Brothers' is on now. Both of the items above [two pictures of the great outdoors] were found in a travel brochure I'd received in the mail recently, so I thought you might enjoy them, especially when you go out that way:) I'd like to be on a camping trip like in the one item:) The one of the cyclist puts me in the mindset of you plans to cycle around, Elias. So, I can still write you at Prison Concerns up to June 1st, right? "Spiders & Snakes" is on now which is by Jim Stafford. I'll go ahead & mail you a biography & some info on myself so you can get this web page set up & all. It won't be with this letter though, but hopefully soon under separate cover. Will you need a photo to include with it all? I assume you will, so I'll be sure to enclose one when I send the info, okay?

"Living Thing," by 'Electric Light Orchestra' is on now. We'll get it together, so you'll be able to put something together. I look forward to seeing a print-out of what it looks like:) On that note, let me bring this to an end, since I've been writing on & off all day. I need to relax & watch TV:) The stress of this place gets to me, so I need to "shut down" by relaxing. Be well.

Sincerely Yours,

Anton