Dear Queenie,
I have a relative who is in prison. Very often someone I correspond with will ask me how he is doing.
Queenie, if they don’t already know he is doing time, what should I tell them?—At a loss for words
Dear At a loss,
This is a small island and probably everyone here who knows your relative knows he is in prison. If your correspondent also knows your imprisoned relative and/or these other people he or she may already know about your relative’s status, so it would not be wise to try to conceal the truth. Even if your correspondent does not know anyone else here, I would not recommend telling a lie.
However, either way there is no reason for you to go into any detail about the situation. I think an evasive answer would be your best bet, such as, “As far as I know he is okay” or “I haven’t seen or heard from him recently, so I really don’t know.”
