Chopper Unchopped (89 page)

I HAVE said before that the one big drawback of being in jail is that every bugger knows your address.

I am only allowed to write a certain number of letters per week, yet I receive sometimes over 100 a week, so it stands to reason that a man in jail is unable to answer that much mail.

I get hurt and angry letters from people because I did not answer their other letters. A lot of these people ask me to sign my name so that they can stick it inside their books, or write them a short letter so they can include it with their books.

Please send a photo or letter to me. But understand that I am allowed to write only 15 letters a week and half of them are already spoken for, so it stands to reason that I cannot answer all my mail. Do they think I'm Barbara Cartland with no ears?

People think I am a very rude and thoughtless person for failing to reply. It is impossible to please everyone. I spend half my time in jail with a blooming pen welded to my hand writing, writing, writing. Sometimes I look at a pile of unanswered mail and it all gets too much.

This is mail I fully intended to answer, but I get up and flush the lot down the brasco and say ‘consider yourselves posted'. It all gets on top of me at times. Maybe I could get a silent prison. At least I don't have to answer the phones.

It is the same with the visits. I only get half an hour a week now that I am in the mainstream prison, and ten to 20 people a week, who I do not want to come in, arrive at the jail and demand to see old Chop Chop.

This is not a book club, it is a prison. When I say that I don't want to see strangers and use my precious half hour up, they write me a stiff letter of abuse for not seeing them. I can't win.

I have just read Chopper Three and I must say that I enjoyed it immensely, so much so that I will purchase your first two books soon.

I was a police officer over here in Adelaide before I left the force in 1990. What I find totally amazing is that your views on drug dealers and child sex offenders don't differ at all from mine, and those of most of the police I used to work with and some of which I still keep in contact with. I, like you, can see the injustice of it all. I can remember a sex offender living in my patrol area. He wasn't fussed whether they were boys or girls providing they were underaged. Anyway, about 10.30 one night while I was on patrol I saw him hanging around the outside of a Kentucky Fried Chicken store as the kids were knocking off.

As soon as he saw the police car he crossed to the other side of the road, so I followed him. He went back to the other side, as did I. I then got out of the car and called to him, and he told me to stop harassing him and that he was going to put in a complaint to I.I.B., which he did.

I was told not to go anywhere near this citizen.

The bleeding hearts and do-gooders would have been most pleased with me getting a rap over the knuckles. Another colleague of mine gave the security people at the Westfield Shopping Centre a photocopied picture of this scumbag for them to look out for. The sex offender somehow found out about it, put in a complaint to I.I. Branch. They in turn interviewed the officer involved and were going to charge him with larceny of photocopy paper.

He ended up being charged with a breach of some police general order much to his chagrin. You can see from this Mark that you're not the only one beating your head up against a brick wall.

It must be somewhat off-putting for you getting letters from people all over Australia, knowing that they know all about you and you know nothing about them.

Well I'm 37 years old, separated from my wife, but look after my two little girls, ten and five years of age. My estranged wife is having the girls for four days and it gets lonely without them. So it's time like these that I like to read and catch up on mundane household duties.

I'm an earthmoving operator working for my brother, and a speedway bike referee, so now you know a little about me. I bet you're blown out with excitement.

Well, Chopper, I hope you haven't fallen asleep too many times while reading this. On a final note, I wouldn't worry to much about the idiots who criticise your literary efforts; they would be the same people who would see an Arnold Schwarzenegger film and complain about the acting!

Firstly let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew, I am 23 years old and have just been discharged from the Army after five years' service. I have read all of your books and first heard your name when I too was hanging around the streets of Melbourne, St Kilda in particular.

I am just writing to thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson. Without condemning you or your actions in anyway, or bringing on any unwarranted ridicule, your actions as described in your book have saved me from entering a life of crime.

I was 13 years old in 1984 when my father died, just leaving my mother, my sister and myself. At that early age I had no idea what life or love was all about, but following the death of my father I soon learned. Angry at the world and myself (the night before my father died he found out that I received a Saturday detention at school, subsequently putting some of the blame onto myself). I was looking for someone or something to be part of, a feeling of belonging that I lost when my father died.

It was the same old story that I was very impressionable at that age and I was sucked into the bright lights and mystique of St Kilda and associated with the wrong type of people. I was searching for that male bonding that I felt was cheated from me. Naturally enough fighting became my way of dealing with my aggression and winning somehow justified it. Before too long, my mother was becoming very concerned about my activities, and I acted like the rebel and told her that she didn't know what she was talking about and so forth.

By the time I was 17 years old, I could look after myself fairly well and knew my way around Melbourne and some of the right people. Throughout this whole time I was a private school student and walked a fine line between doing the right thing by my peers and the street kid that was struggling to be contained.

Eventually, it got out and in just three punches I had put a friend of mine in hospital for two weeks.

It was at this time that I began to realise what strength I had, and that I could not always control it. I had seen you before in the Prince of Wales and obviously kept my distance but I also realised that if something didn't change in my life I could see myself being your apprentice. With that in mind I completed school and joined the Army. This was good for me as I felt I could release my aggression and fears by sticking a bayonet into a tyre, and it provided the discipline I needed.

As you say, you are who you are, and the same with me. I still feel a great deal of hurt inside and I began to stray into my former self. I never had a criminal record before the Army and it didn't take me long to notch up my first. Attempted armed robbery, assault with intent to rob, unlawful assault and assault in company. One hell of a way to start out I think. Without going into too much detail all charges were dropped and a new charge was entered to which I pleaded guilty – assault with a weapon.

Believing I was lucky, and had learnt my lesson, that ugly monster reared its head again and I was back in court, this time for threatening unlawful violence and possession of an offensive weapon. I got a 12-month good behaviour bond for both cases and $540 and $300 fines respectively. This time I was lucky.

I even spent 27 days in the Defence Force Corrective Establishment and if jail is worse than that you can have it. D.F.C.E. is a hole. You have to stand to attention to ask permission to have salt and pepper on your meal. What a crock!

I realised that no matter how hard I tried the Army was doing little to discourage my aggression. If anything it encouraged it. I had read your books and had taken quite a liking to them. What I had to do was get away from everything, so I got out of the Army, had a nice holiday for a few months on the Gold Coast, said sorry to Mum for all the shit in the past and came back to Melbourne.

So now I sit here behind my computer studying engineering at university, wearing respectable clothes and driving a nice car, looking forward to the future. I cannot forget the things I have done in the past, as they are tattooed on my body by $6500 worth of ink. I am not proud of what I have done, but I do not regret anything. Life is a learning experience, but experience isn't what you do, it's what you learn from it.

This must sound like chicken feed for you but to me this was pretty major. I mean this with the utmost respect and admiration; in your book you say that your best teacher is your enemy, but in my case it was you. Your mistakes have been my learning points. Think of it this way, your book, by exposing a life in crime, has probably stopped quite a few kids like I was and made them think about where their life was going. Despite all else you must feel some pride in that.

I hope you have not taken offence to anything that I have said, as none was intended and I have said it as a sign of respect. If I have I humbly apologise. I wish you all the best in the future and in particular with your current problem. Please find enclosed a stamp. If you wish to write back to me I would be honored.

If not, I will fully understand and still respect you for it. I am not trying to be patronising, but whether I agree with what you have done is irrelevant. I can only thank you for what you have done for me.

Hey Chopper! If it is any consolation, I believe you are innocent.

P.S. I realise that you have no idea who I am, but if you would like anything: newspapers, magazine etc. just write and let me know. I think you are one of the last of the great Australians, for your dedication and loyalty to your mates. This is very rare these days.

If I may call you that. I am writing you this letter after just finishing your third book. I must give credit where credit is due. All three books were very interesting and well written. I don't know really why I am writing you this letter. I don't know if you'll read it. I hope you will find the time.

You're probably thinking you have all the time in the world. Well I don't. In my opinion, not that it counts much, I feel you should be set free. I, like a lot of other people, feel you are not a threat to anyone. Well you do know what I mean. I can't understand why they still have you behind those walls. I hope everything works out for you as I feel you have done the people of Victoria a great deal.

Well, I will tell you a bit about myself. I am a 22-year-old female. I have two children, a girl aged four named Sharlene and a son aged 22 months named Daniel. I no longer see the father of my children. I am Maltese. By the way in one of your books you said the typical Maltese girl always goes for the kitchen knife. After reading that I stopped and thought for a while; it is so true, as I always reach for the stay sharp. It would have to be my best friend in the kitchen. I haven't had to use it yet. Anyway my hobbies would have to be cars, reading and my kids. As you have noticed I have sent no photos. I am not going to make any promises that I know I can't keep.

All I ask from you is to read my letters. I'm not even going to ask you to be my friend as I'm sure you've had enough ‘friends'. I will ask you to please try to write to me. I can understand you probably get so much mail and you would get sick of writing. If you can find the time I would be grateful.

Before I finish this letter I would like to thank you for making me and many others realise what kind of place we really live in.

You are one of a kind Chopper but I am glad you wrote those books and I am sorry the Australian Governments are so stupid. I hope to hear from you soon. I am sure I can arrange that cardigan too.

Send me a size if you send me a line.

Chopper,

Hi there! How's life? First of all I have to say that your third book was brilliant. It's about the only book I've read twice cover to cover. You've gotta do a fourth book. I haven't read the first two, but I'm getting them from the library and then I'll probably buy them.

Yeah, I guess I'll buy 'em. I'm sure they'll be just as good as the third.

I almost got the third book confiscated for reading it in a science lesson. But fortunately student teachers are real dickheads and believe everything you tell them. This one was no exception. Guess which was more interesting. I mean, who gives a shit about physics and crap like that. I mean it's not gonna help me when I get out of school.

When will anybody ask you ‘What's the average velocity … Blah blah blah.'

Do you know where you can get ‘Chopper T-Shirts'. Not many shops know what you're talking about when you ask. They all sort of stare at you and then say stuff like ‘Oh the only HD shirts we have are on the shelves.' I mean I don't want a bloody Harley shirt, I want a Chopper shirt.

What do you expect from a private schoolgirl? I'm sure you'll have heaps of jokes. Want to tell me some? I'm sure the school needs a few more cultural, tasteful jokes. You know, the ones you hear in jail. When's your birthday? I'm not offended easily so tell me the worst jokes you know. I know this sounds weird but I reckon you look stranger with ears than you do without (no offence or anything). I'm sure people have said worse. I've gotta go.

PS. If someone was really crook and wanted to meet you would they be able to say through the ‘make a wish foundation', or through the ‘starlight foundation' that they'd like to meet Chopper. Would you be allowed to come up?

Yep it's your little posh private school girl here. I should be able to read your two books in about a month because the library had to have them rebound because they were worn out too much.