Nearly all of The Quandary is fictional. The characters are loosely based on people I've met over the years, and I've named some of them after people I know. Mason and King, the two big-time drug dealers are very real to me because they are based on two people, one of whom I knew quite well. Mason's name in real life is Ken. Ken was my guy up until my arrest in 2013. He was arrested a short time later and has been locked up ever since.
Ken is now a resident in a Federal prison in Adelanto, California. He was given a 15 year sentence for two counts of first-degree sales of meth. He also had something like $30,000 tucked away in his home when the police raided it, which is how it became a Federal case. The Feds only allow 10% good behavior time which means he has to sit for 13 1/2 years.
I write to Ken because he's a friend, and he's far from home and doesn't have many people to communicate with. I received a letter from him yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you. I won't edit it, just keep that in mind.
Vince,
Hey man what's up? It's good to hear that things are going good for you. Don't lose focus. It's real easy to get off track. Keep them priorities in place. Things are alright here. Its been hot as hell the last week. The last couple days just been dragging by for me. We been stuck inside cause there a huge fire close by and is ash falling from the sky and the air is somewhat smoky. So yeah, it's been real boring. Not much to do. I wish they would let us out to go fight the fires. That would be pretty cool I would think. And maybe more productive. I guess they let some of the state prisoners do it. It would be a hell of an experience. Man I miss the green grass and the trees. When I look out my window all I see is gravel and little cactuses. Can't wait to get back that way. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. But who knows with the Feds. They tend to do everything ass backwards. That's crazy about the vehicle falling on your old buddy. It goes to show how quick and spontaneous a persons life can be yanked from them. I got a B day next month. I'm gonna try to make a little meal for myself and maybe a little cake or something. Best I can do where I'm at. Anyway, I hope everything keeps going well. Just keep yourself busy! Don't let that mind wander :-) I'll talk to you later,
Ken
I hear a lot of sadness and despair in those words. He has been behind bars for nearly three years, with a decade to go. Nobody from his family has visited him, including his two children, and contact with them is becoming more infrequent. It's as if he's being slowly erased from the picture of life.
Someday, after a few years, they may transfer him to a facility closer to home. Until then, he's stuck inside the bare walls of a compound on the fringes of a desert. He's lonely, depressed, and probably feels a bit scared for himself. All over two handfuls of meth and a few stacks of money, this man's life has been all but taken away. There's nothing he can do for an early release, there's nothing he can do to take it all back. All he can do is sit there and wait.
Ken is now a resident in a Federal prison in Adelanto, California. He was given a 15 year sentence for two counts of first-degree sales of meth. He also had something like $30,000 tucked away in his home when the police raided it, which is how it became a Federal case. The Feds only allow 10% good behavior time which means he has to sit for 13 1/2 years.
I write to Ken because he's a friend, and he's far from home and doesn't have many people to communicate with. I received a letter from him yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you. I won't edit it, just keep that in mind.
Vince,
Hey man what's up? It's good to hear that things are going good for you. Don't lose focus. It's real easy to get off track. Keep them priorities in place. Things are alright here. Its been hot as hell the last week. The last couple days just been dragging by for me. We been stuck inside cause there a huge fire close by and is ash falling from the sky and the air is somewhat smoky. So yeah, it's been real boring. Not much to do. I wish they would let us out to go fight the fires. That would be pretty cool I would think. And maybe more productive. I guess they let some of the state prisoners do it. It would be a hell of an experience. Man I miss the green grass and the trees. When I look out my window all I see is gravel and little cactuses. Can't wait to get back that way. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later. But who knows with the Feds. They tend to do everything ass backwards. That's crazy about the vehicle falling on your old buddy. It goes to show how quick and spontaneous a persons life can be yanked from them. I got a B day next month. I'm gonna try to make a little meal for myself and maybe a little cake or something. Best I can do where I'm at. Anyway, I hope everything keeps going well. Just keep yourself busy! Don't let that mind wander :-) I'll talk to you later,
Ken
I hear a lot of sadness and despair in those words. He has been behind bars for nearly three years, with a decade to go. Nobody from his family has visited him, including his two children, and contact with them is becoming more infrequent. It's as if he's being slowly erased from the picture of life.
Someday, after a few years, they may transfer him to a facility closer to home. Until then, he's stuck inside the bare walls of a compound on the fringes of a desert. He's lonely, depressed, and probably feels a bit scared for himself. All over two handfuls of meth and a few stacks of money, this man's life has been all but taken away. There's nothing he can do for an early release, there's nothing he can do to take it all back. All he can do is sit there and wait.
