Christmas Note From a Prison Cell

IT is most incongruous to wish the imprisoned a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" A man behind bars cannot possibly spend that holy day in merry mood. And the first day of the New Year is not a happy one. We receive the best wishes of our loved ones and our friends--however, the "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" they offer us is done with tongue in cheek. These are the days when each of us searches his own heart and realizes the error of his ways. We wish each other, in here, a "Merry Christmas" and our hearts are heavy as we do so. And the first day of the New Year finds us mouthing that oft repeated phrase, "Happy New Year!" but we don't mean it! We're not happy--we are miserable about this whole sorry mess.