Dear So and So: Brazilian Fellow Home Base Coworker

Dear American Fellow Home Base Coworker,

When I came to America I was a very bitter young man. Everywhere I looked I saw abundance and yet you people were unsatisfied. I came here on a student visa seeking to better myself through education and then money: lots of money. Through some miscommunication I lost the funds for my education and for unforeseen reasons I could not get back to Brazil. I jumped from job to job in dreadful Utah, looking for the one that would tell me I was in the right place for advancement and money. When I came to Home Base, I saw your face. Your face made me very angry. Your face reminded me of a weak loser I beat up in school as a youth, the man on television who introduced the cartoons I was forced to watch because it was my younger sister’s turn, and the man behind the desk who couldn’t speak Portuguese well enough to explain to me why I don’t have MONEY! You can see why your face made me angry. So when I explained to you that I hated you and needed to beat you up, in my not-so-good English, it just made me angrier when you could not understand and when you even looked a little scared. You were going to bloody my fists with your face, the face that makes me angry. You understand, right? Your face was something I could not stand in my presence. I have since realized that the pleasure I found in scaring you and lying awake at night imagining my fist in your face, do not fulfill me like it used to. I now find sculpting miniature bunnies out of my ear wax of a most fulfilling nature I never imagined. And since I have plenty of time on my hands, I can hone and shape those skills to my utmost pleasure. Just wanted to let you know, imagining your face no longer makes me angry.

Sincerely,
Brazilian Fellow Home Base Coworker
Pendleton Correctional Facility

 

Dear Brazilian Fellow Home Base Coworker,

I have to admit that remembering our time together at Home Base comes to mind once in a while. The memory of standing in front of you brings more confusion and sympathy rather than fear. I am glad you took the time to explain to me why my face made you so angry. I appreciate other people’s reasoning, even if it may lead to fear and violence. We all have a story to tell. When I feel angry or unjustified, I recall what occurred two-thousand years ago, to a man who has had much effect on which I am now. All the anger, hatred and fear came upon him in an unjust way. He didn’t deserve what he got, but he took it anyway, knowing it was the only way people could have a relationship with him, and thus gives us an opportunity to resolve the differences we have with each other. Since you did write, I wanted to let you know that even though you are far away, that I am willing to have an open conversation with you about whatever you would like, but alas it can never be face-to-face since I do not want to test the limits of what my face would do to your anger. In reality I am astounded for the opportunity to speak to one who had a profound moment in a miniscule bit of time. Who I was then never imagined where I was to be 25 years after the fact, let alone where you ended up. I am in a particular amount of shock right now. I hope all goes well with you and your craft. Write me soon.

Sincerely,
American Fellow Home Base Coworker