Editor’s notes: This is part of a letter Ray sent to me about a conversation he had with his neighbor. The post is generated with Ray’s permission.

I want to make the following a blog post, please create a title: I’m feeling okay so far, and today’s going fine. It’s commissary day, so I’ll probably cook. Funny story—well, not so funny—my neighbor calls me to the cell door and says he burned himself with the stinger. The bag busted, and the hot water spilled on his stomach. (A stinger is a wire connected to metal, plugged into an electrical socket, and placed inside a bag to boil water for coffee or food. It’s a basic setup, but making one is more complicated.)

Anyway, I ask him, “Why?” and he says, “Because the bag busted.” I respond, “No, for being stupid!” Then he asks if I have any antibiotic cream, and I tell him, “No, you think you’re at the Marriott getting room service? Even if you put in an I-60 for medical, they’re gonna charge you $13.50 and not do much for you. You’ll just have to tough it out. Be a gangster, it’ll heal on its own.” He said I was being cold, and I started laughing. So I told him, “Next time, double wrap the bag, and let it cool off before pulling the food out. And that bag you threw out? It’s too thin, homie. I’m not giving you advice all the time—you gotta catch on.”

Later, he came out for a shower and showed me the burn. It was big, purple, and blistered. I started calling him Big Purple, just messing around. I said, “That looks like a second-degree burn,” but I wasn’t sure, so I kept calling him Big Purple. He says it’s healing, but stingers are dangerous if you’re not careful. One time I was heating water, and the stinger melted the bag and touched the steel. It popped like a blue light! Scared me—I was like, “Man, not doing that again!” I even blew out the electricity. You’ve gotta be careful with those things. Now I just use my hot pot. It’s slow and only heats to a certain level, but it’s fine. I can cook, no problem.

Editor’s note: Should you be interested in prison cooking, here are some recipes and how to. https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-fine-art-of-cooking-in-prison-ingenious-jailhouse-cooking-hacks