Prologue to Teen Correspondance

PROLOGUE

You have, quite literally "My Life in Your Hands." At least it is my intent to name this work that. A second choice might be "Letters of Reminiscence" or still a third, "Letters from John."
No matter what the final title may end up being, you should know that any resemblance to persons or places depicted in this book, are purely intentional. This is indeed an autobiographical account of my existence at various locations, at differing times during my life. As such, it is intended to be factual, so street names and place names must remain as written.
I have endeavored to leave off surnames and have changed some of the characters names in the story. At best though, it is a thin disguise and can readily be penetrated by readers familiar with some of the persons or places mentioned.
It is not this author's intent to cause anyone pain or discomfort by these revelations. Rather, it is told to shed some light on a particular moment which has some redeeming quality that caused the author to store the moment in memory until now.
The school, and students who wrote, are located in the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. You may recall that several years ago, that city was involved in a major drug bust that netted (at that time) the largest amount of illicit drugs in the nation, and uncovered the Colombian, Medellin Cartel connection. The children of that area are still being affected by those circumstances. Several students, in their initial letters, have


alluded to the drug problems the city has had, and, alledgedly, is still having.
It was the desire of the author to contact old friends or teachers to reminisce about good times in past years. The letter-writing campaign intensified when it was turned into a class project. At first I resented this intrusion by so many strangers. As I began to realize, however, the more I wrote to these students, the more clearly events stood out in my memory and the narrative began to flow more and more smoothly. For that alone, I owe the teacher and his students my deepest gratitude.
It is my hope, that should this book become widely read in the area, perhaps the citizens of Central Falls will realize the values and worth they once had and be able to reestablish those values. If for no other reason, it might make people realize that their children are growing up in fear of what the city has become.
I am not completely altruistic; I want to make a buck also! I happen to think I have some writing talents and have led an interesting life. I've tried to make this work reflect those facts.
It will be necessary for the reader to wade through some small talk in answering certain questions from letter writers. An effort was made by the author to keep the conversation lively and full of anecdotes; to answer all questions put to him and to make the letters not only informative, but humorous and stylistic. Of necessity, all letters could not be included because of


redundancy. I did answer each writer individually however, and the book version tells all.
Along with the story of my adventures in life (which in-
cluded life in Central Falls), I have tried to impart a feeling of pride in the city and it's people by showing that some of its leading citizens today (the former mayor, Carlos Silva, and several other schoolmates of mine), have gone on to become pillars of the community.
It is hoped the reader will be able to piece the story together without too much difficulty and that in doing so, will have a good read and perhaps some memory of your own will be called to mind by the narrative.
I wish to thank my wife who has been very patient with my absences and late night toil in this endeavor.
To the reader, enjoy.

John E. Hunt