James Tranmer
17547-050
P.O. Box 1000
Lewisburg, PA 17837

March 4, 1997

Hey Carl,
    I enjoy very much all of the info you send me about the medical status of the herb and the government's bureaucratic devices that continually harass the citizenry with unmitigated evil activities as they vilify the wonder weed with lies worthy of their devious propaganda machine.  The newsletter is also very informative.
    I especially gloated in the way you handled the hypocrite impostor, Grassley, whose name should be Pill-ley or Pharmaceutical-ley so that folks from Iowa could more readily recognize this sniveling little minion who speaks with a forked tongue.  You must continue to expose their specious reasoning and openly chastise their nasty behavior toward their fellow humans. Their inferior thought processes cry out for someone of your experience and stature to run them through with your double-edged sword.  I am not flattering you, I am commending you.
    The Food and Drug Administration and their federally funded scientific studies work hand-in-hand with the numerous pharmaceutical giants to approve and market hundreds, if not thousands, of "medicines" pushed and prescribed by stockholding, unscrupulous doctors who do not care about the hazardous side effects or that these "snake oil medicines" contain addictive substances.  The unwitting customers clamor for more because it makes them "feel better," not to mention that it is enriching these drug pushers who masquerade behind their fraudulent AMAs, and their self-serving FDAs and DEAs, and pose as my representative behind the facade of the U.S. Senate, etc.  His own words are an apt description of the charlatan tactics which they employ to intimidate and confuse the people so they cannot think nor act for themselves.
    Very few people can represent the ganja the way that you are capable of doing.  Your experiences among the sisters and the brothers gives you a rare perspective and your experiences drawn from your own initiatives in recent years afford you a potentially lethal combination of body punches to weaken the Goliath of politics and religion.  We do not represent Camel cigarettes nor are we motivated by commercialism.  We simply know the sacramentality of this precious herb and we bear witness to the vast array of psychological and medical comforts that can be obtained by those who smoke good ganja, especially if they were permitted to hear the consciousness concerning the use of herb which we collectively possess.  I realize that almost all of our former spiritual associates are momentarily asleep because of narcosis from fear, commercialism, and temporary bad-mind.  You must act on our behalf until a reawakening occurs.  Body-slam these infidels!
    I agree that the legal road is potentially a dead-end that leads to a bottomless pit of corruption which they have prepared for the gullible.  The siren calls but she is diseased with incurable vanity.
    I'm glad to hear that Mike Arison and Greg Lancelotti are in touch with you.  The Lancelotti brothers and Claudia are all stalwarts of spirituality and extremely kind souls.  I hammer the Keith-Coptic-Wally fiasco whenever I detect that someone is trying to defend even a morsel of that B.S.  None of those people nor the organization, itself, are my enemies.  Failure to acknowledge the lessons of our experiences is an enemy to us all. I may have uncorked a few high, hard fastballs the last time I wrote to Lance and Greg, but they are both tough and resilient.  I hope you understand the baseball metaphor.
    I consider Robert Lawrence, his wife, Asia, and their son, Jasher, to be precious gems in an otherwise treacherous landscape.  Those people have really been kind to me and my family and unbelievably supportive.
    Mike Cullison was sentenced to a year and a day and only has a matter of months to serve on that old beef.  It's never pleasant, but he'll be okay.
    Big Bob, after being robbed at gunpoint on three separate occasions, has moved to Cape Cod to live with Joel and Jane.  I know that they have some aspirations for a youth camp of some sort.  They are all exceedingly unselfish spiritual nuts who, like yourself, do not harbor ancient animosities based on imagined violations of a carnal code of misconduct drawn up in the shadow of a leaky douche bag.  Love one another and forgive your brothers and sisters 70 times 7 times, and a few more if need be.  I'm sure Bob's tormentors are his acquaintances and customers. "Alright, you old rascloth, give us all of your buried treasure and we'll let you live." Okay! Bob is, really, one of my all-time favorite characters.  Such suffering by his own doings.  He's almost as ludicrously tragic as me.  What a kabob in this fiery furnace.  A lovable goof.
    Poor Greg Peck.  What a predicament he placed himself in.  He's just grasping at straws by making you feel somehow responsible.  I first met Greg in Arkansas during our short-lived performance in the Ozarks.  My own frame of mind was strictly focused on the spiritual nature of my own soul during that period, so all of my feelings toward anyone I met at that time was without rancor or strife of any kind.  I always liked Greg and his family and I believe he was one of the stronger and more skillful characters in the Michael Matteson saga.  He really has a dreaded case of the flesh, manifesting in a tremendously debauched manner.  I wrestled with my own demons throughout a few separate reincarnations and the only comfort I can offer him is an assurance that he can and must subdue his own depravity through a combination of faith - that which we have been given is real, of determination - to never give up battling against the uncleanness, and praying - in the manner he has always relied upon during his previous skirmishes where he has generally gotten his ass kicked.  He'll simply overcome one day.  This is all I can say.
    I delighted to hear from you that my old pal, Cliff, is feeling his oats a bit.  Abe Lincoln once said something to this effect: "Almost any man can bear distress or persecution with some bravery and dignity because there is little alternative.  But the true measure of a man's excellence is known when that man is given power." This is definitely a paraphrase, but I'm sure you comprehend the gist.  My point is simply this; Cliff had some degree of power in out little enterprise during the 1970s.  He always dealt evenhandedly with his sisters and brothers except when excessively pressured by such deleterious influences from his confidantes, like Big Al and especially Keith.  And, most notably, the guy did not enrich himself personally even though he controlled huge sums of money and had every opportunity to help himself to the cookie jar.  I'm sure many of the old rascals we know and love would blame old Peter Sheets for this or that, but, in a spiritual sense, he was an exemplary character.  His most glaring flaw was his inability to stand up to a tyrannical and egomaniacal nigha-(I know they spell it Niah) man, Gordon.  None of us could muster even a good fart when he was around because we were so intimidated and hoodwinked.  In the whole summation of those events, Jackie and Cliff were as good as any and, probably, better than most considering the roles that they were given to play.
    I cannot imagine what our good brother means when he says, "the brethren are gathered." I'll just leave it alone and assume he was being facetious.  I would gladly serve my prison sentence and two more like it if I knew that these precious souls has somehow rekindled the divinity that lives within us.  Even if it meant that I could not be in that number, I would leap for joy and sing my song from afar.  I know that certain inescapable facts must be acknowledged before that glorious unity can be realized, before the entire body of sisters and brothers will "doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us."
    Cliff used to go hang with Big Bob and Brad once in awhile.  I know he longs for something we once glimpsed as much as I do.  Or as much as you, or any of us do.
    Cynthia called Judy a few weeks back and said she had, quite recently, seen Samson.  Where the hell is Delilah when we need her? They both, she and Nate, wrote Brian recently and encouraged him to keep his spirits up.  Brian is being transferred to USP Terre Haute and, hopefully, he will get back into population after a year and one half in isolation.  I got to talk to him on the phone two weeks ago after almost two years without a phone call between us.  It was nice hearing his voice.  He's exceptionally tough and still able to laugh.
    David and Chris are in touch with Jane and Joel and I'm sure they'll see Booblius while he's up in that sector of the country. I know that will go a long way in crumbling some of the imaginations that have developed over the years.  They are all very spiritual people and something good must grow when the barriers are broken.  No matter what has happened, there is only one hope, one aim, and one destiny that can be of any substance to any of us. This I know.
    I can still oblate, if that's even a word, and I can sing psalms. What a world situation, what a world!! Keep blasting the infernal nerd wheresoever they arise. I feel good and anticipatory,
    Jim