Spread a little Christmas love...
This is Byron. He lives in a 6 x 10 foot cell he shares with another guy in a prison in Maryland. It's noisy in prison, there's always noise 24/7. Guys fighting, getting stabbed, screaming from the madness brought on by bad hootch, getting raped in the shower and just plain boredom.
Byron sits in his cell with a pad of paper and pencil and writes outlines for screenplays. He wants to be a screenwriter when he gets out, he wants this very badly. What he doesn't know is that he has more talent than a lot people on the outside who put less time into their craft and expect more.
Like a lot of kids from the ghetto who grew up on the streets without a father, he turned to peddling drugs to make his bones. I'm not condoning it, but it's what happens when you're 20 years old with no tomorrows.
He reached out to me awhile ago to help him learn how to write screenplays. I used to have a company that produced events for wanna-bes who wanted to learn the art, craft and business of screenwriting. It's a terrifically difficult business with little or no success on the horizon for most. But then most won't sit down, pour their hearts and minds into 110 pages and then fight hard to sell those 110 pages.
Byron sits in 6 x 10 foot cell with a pad of paper and a pencil and gets better with every draft. No computer or fancy screenwriting software. Just some notes from me and a whole lot of desire. He reads everything he can out loud and rewrites the notes in his own hand to try to better his grammar and speaking skills as well. He's trying to get into some prison classes, but there isn't room in the classrooms for everyone who wants to better themselves in prison. Imagine that.
As you are writing and sending your Christmas cards this year, why not send Byron one? It would take just a moment of your time and he would love to hear from you. It would brighten the life of someone who eats three square meals of hope everyday.
Byron Bazeman
#333-765
18601 Roxbury Rd.
Hagerstown, Maryland 21746
Tell him you know me, he'll get a kick out of that, for sure.
Thanks, and happy holidays.
Comments
Wow...thanks for sharing this. I haven't decided if hubby and I will be doing cards this year, but if we do, we will definitely send one.
Can Byron recieve anything else or does he need anything that we could send?
Austin - I think this is great of you - Really great - and I hop it will make a difference to him and for him when he gets out.
Problem is I have no idea what in the heck I would write about - what kind of card would be appropriate - et al. I worry about stuff like that.
roflmfao
and sign it from you ;)
Dude, I'm sending a card!
I've also got a stack of old Mental Floss and Smithsonian mags- would he dig it. Btw- I'm going to tell him your my part time lover.
HA! :)
Sure, just my luck get to be the part time lover that never gets any part time or full time or anytime....
I'm sure he appreciate any mags you send, I'm encouraging him to read everything he can get his hands on. But if you send him your old copies of Jugs and Beaver they'll get confiscated.
Mental Floss mag...HAHAHAAHA!~
Hey, why's Mental Floss so funny?
While drinking wine no less...
How about some sci-fi books and such, can he get parcel post packages, UPS, or the like? I could send him a good number of things to read my wife would like to see gone from the bookshelves... Any recommendations on literary preferences?
Heyyyy.... how'd you know I read it on the couch? HAHAH. Kidding.
I love Mental Floss- it's awesome!
Dude, that is awesome! Whatever you send will be totally appreciated! Parcelt psot, UPS, whatever, just include the inmate number..