Brian Matthew Kessler  

College Mail Box XXXX

Stockton State College

Pamona, New Jersey 08240

September 18, 1991

Melissa Timmerman

XXX 49th Street

Brooklyn, New York 11220

Dear Melissa,

What's up?

For better or worse, I don't have a phone yet... (I am in College at Stockton now... new address up top)... My phone bill from calling you cost me a bit over ten dollars... they didn't believe me that I knew nothing about it... it didn't help that I had made a long distance call to someone else both before and after I had called you and there was no way I could deny making the other calls because of the locations: Ottawa, Canada and Staatsburg, New York. I only raised the phone bill about $25 that month... I don't know what I raised it the last month before I left for school. While hanging out in the village I met a girl named Ayesha from Queens. For about a month since then, I was calling her almost every other day, averaging over an hour on each call... now I just plan to write letters to her while I am away. I did not order a long distance service to save myself from temptation when the phone is connected... I won't have my parents to bail me out of steep phone bills now. How badly did you skyrocket your bill?

My summer was interesting... I went to Clash of the Titans and broke "my" seat (I wasn't in my seat... we moved up a bit, not as much as I would have liked to though... by sheer coincidence, a group of friends of mine who I did not go with found themselves sitting in my seat). I saw a bunch of hardcore and death metal groups play at St. Mary's High School in Elizabeth... I saw Mindfunk play at Studio one... ruined the tip of one of my cowboy boots since I accidentally took them into the mosh pit. I saw GWAR play at the Ritz with Leeway (the night before I met the above mentioned Ayesha, which was how I opened a conversation with her... I asked if she saw it since she was dressed the part of someone who might have... she didn't)... it was a very sick show with blood all over the place and a violent mosh pit... I am told someone left in a stretcher. I saw Paineater and a bunch of other death metal groups play at Studio One with Ayesha. I went to the Renaissance festival where I by shear coincidence ran into Ayesha's best friend, Beuna (sp?) and I bought a bracer with a pentagram on it, a necklace with an Egyptian symbol of virility, and Aliester Crowley's Book 4. I read various other books by Crowley (777, Book of the Law, Essays in the Light, Book of Lies, and Book of Thoth (of which I bought the corresponding Tarot deck)). Saw several movies (Bill and Ted, Mystery Date (both with Ayesha), T2, several others)... hung out at various places in Union, Springfield, Hillside, Elizabeth, the village, etc... raided an abandoned orphanage several times with a few of my friends from Elizabeth.

My brother didn't finish the Sign of Baphomet and nobody is interested in a Satanic Cult... My plans to hunt for the Jersey Devil are still in the air.

How's school? I have too much time on my hands here (I have been here since September 4)... I am taking Calculus, Discrete Math, Philosophy/ Human Nature, and Argument/ Persuasion... relatively easy so far. My high school offered nothing so interesting as Devil Literature or Yoga, and the only instrument they offer to teach in terms of making decent music is the drums (but not with the intention of teaching you to play decent music).

I am going to see Morbid Angle at Garden City this Sunday (in theory)... should be good... I spoke with Ayesha and invited her to find her way down here to see it with me, but she said she was planning to go see it at the Marquee this Saturday (not to mention transport would be a bitch)...

If you would like to come down here and visit, and you need a place to stay for a night (or however long you want), I am sure I could let you stay here (strictly on the up and up, of course).

I am under the impression it is about $20 round trip from here to there.

I have become involved in RPG games here (by the looks of the members of the group, it should probably double as a weight watchers, but their pretty cool, if not a bit crazy).

I am also planning on getting involved in SSTV (the College TV station)... they are going to have a Horror-Soap Opera... I plan to try to get a part... should be fun.

I am straight edge... have been for some time... got trashed once... here is what I wrote about it for an assignment in Creative Writing last year:

I am straight edge for many reasons:

Despite being straight edge, I still enjoy hanging out with people who are consuming various chemicals and I still feel it should all be legalized.

I think I promised you a copy of my article about guidos, no? Either way, here:

If I promised to send you anything else, or if I mentioned anything else you might want to see a copy of, let me know and I will send it. That's all I can think of writing for now... I miss you and I hope to see you soon (although I have my doubts about the soon part).

Sorry it took so long to write back to you... had to wait for my mom to forward your letter from home.

Yours truly,

Brian Matthew Kessler