Art work by Larry Shultz

Larry is a friend of Eric's, I know few things about him like he wad in the u.s.a air force or something like that? As you can see he is an aspiring artist! And also had done a family portrait!

He has told me that he does a lot of drawings in mystical creators ie faries unicorns (which you can see) and dragons. I love his unicorn paintings and the family one he helad done is simply amazing. He is pictured in with his art as well (obviously). I will be regularly getting pics of his art to post so I can't wait!  They will be sent through Eric.

Indigenous eyez entry by Thomas Thornton

Life aint fair and it never will be, the adversity built my character
brought me closer to me. My character prepared me for success,
it helped me to weather the storms, and wouldn't let me settle for
less. Life aint fair and it never will be. So why they still jealous,
envious and hatin' on me? I have been through the struggle, but
that part you can not see. Whishing I don't succed, hoping that Im
unhappy, life aint fair and it never will be. So every morning I pray,
Grandfather please help me through another day, Great Spirit I need
a blessing please throw one my way. Every night I pray Great Mystery
thank you for being with me, thank you for my health, strength, and
famILY. Pidamiya for the endurance you've given me to deal with....
Life aint fair....and it never will be.

The Dakota word for "sweatbath" is Inipi. The word is related to
the root word NI (to live) and the causative form Niya (to breath).
The two most common reasons for taking a sweatbath are for
Wicozanni (health) and for wiconi (life). Thus, a literal translation
of Inipi is "for thier life." The primary focus is upon the "life " of
the people.
To some the sweatlodge is like a womb. Here the participants
regain in a spiritual way a new life and strength. The sweatlodge
is shaped like the ribbed back of a mud turtle. Turtles are slow,
patient, and strong hearted. Even after they are dismembered, the
turtle's heart beats strongly. The mound reminds the participants
of the hill of the vision quest where one is close to the creator
and the spirits above. The pit inside reminds the participants of
the depths of the mysteries they are about to take part in.

The reason.

Ok, so freakishly women up to the scream of my son...thunder, and I've never heard him scream like that before, I check my corrlinks and I gave a message from Thomas. Please keep in mind that I am one of the people who have asked why he is in there...this hits it right on the nail!

"Often I am asked why am I in prison. The question is almost continually posed by someone who has taken the time to get to know me, and to "know me" is to know my talents, qualities, traits, and virtues. I am a poet. I am an author. i am an artist. I am an entrepreneur. Also, i am a loving father, devoted son, and kind neighbor. So... How could I then be an "Armed Career Criminal" as the government put it at my trial and subsequent sentencing? Easy. The government did not sentence "me". They sentenced my record. they sentenced a categorical history of what I did in my lifetime. The trouble with that is they do not keep records of anything positive. Only the crimes. The times I broke the laws are all the government concerned itself with. Why? Do not my good deeds have a weight against the bad ones? Imagine if we took this attitude into our personal lives, into our own homes. Your child talked back. You wrote that down. Your child missed his bedtime. You wrote that down. Your child received a bad grade because of failing to study. May be he or she tried a cigarette. Even shoplifted at a really low point. You marked it all down to gauge what kind of person the child is. But you never marked down the times he made you chicken soup when you were sick. Or the time he tried to make you a birthday card out of macaroni noodles. What about when he found money but returned it to the neighbor. And remember when he jumped in the pool that Summer to save his friend who could not swim. Then he became a father and turned out to be a great dad. He brought the whole family together for holidays and told awesome jokes. When someone was feeling down he hugged them and told them everything would be all right.... and he meant it. The courts don't calculate those things in to sentencing. They do not consider the poems, paintings, books, and companies I created. They don't care that I gave my last dollars to my grandparents when they needed money or that I helped my elderly neighbor carry furniture into her new apartment before I even knew her name. The court is a systematic money machine for this country. Now, 37 percent of inmates are mentally ill. They are locking them away because they can. because no one complains. Because society is glad to be rid of the "crazy nut" who spends all day talking to imaginary people. It is easy to turn a blind eye on prisoners... until you realize they are not all murdering rapists. Nope. There are guys like me. Misguided as a youth. Eager to impress, and struggling to be accepted. Most all the crimes I committed were to put food on the family table. I did not buy fancy carsm expensive clothes, etc... I paid rent and bought food. Not that I was justified. I NEVER was and I regret every time I broke a law but you have to understand that when you are faced with a choice to go hungry and homeless or push a law to the side.... The choice is very very hard to make and if you are not strong enough you will make the wrong one. I am guilty of not being strong enough. That is why I am in prison. I am here because I knew that the system is broken and not worth it and I was not strong enough to avoid it. Now, does that make me a "Armed Career Criminal"? No. Any one who was with me my last 2 yrs on the street can and would tell you that I had given up crime and turned my life around on my own just like I promised. Unfortunately (As my judge noted at sentencing) I did it after this last crime and not the one before. So, I sit in prison for that. The irony of it? Of all the crimes I did this is the one I actually did not commit. And you thought God did not have a sense of humor. LOL. Also, know this. I have no regrets and I am not bitter. I love life and find happiness every day."

A poem from Thomas

A CHIP OFF THE OL' BLOCK

You know I'm in-love with these gray skies
where my misery found company
near desolation and the wayside
I lost a piece of me, I buried
the pain I gained when my father died
guilt that grew because I could not cry
in a world of wet eyes mine were dry
left not yet a man to wonder why
the only good you gave was goodbye
I tried to build my own family
but only poisoned their purity
introduced them to insanity
depravation and calamity
the more I tried to explain for them
the less I was understanding me
I received these traits inherently
for I have become what you once were
antagonist to the man in me......

T.G. Thornton

A little catch up and a response to story

It's been a while since I have written everyone.

Which I've been feeling a bit guilty about, but I've got good reason as creating another little life right now :D yep I'm pregnant about 16 weeks now. Only a few of them know, I've yet to tell Shaun and I know how will be more than understanding, well quite a few have been anyway.

Ralph knew in august as well as his brother Rafael, Ralph said that when baby arrives he will make andream catcher for baby because the dream catchers are actually used to help the development of the baby while it sleeps! Something I never knew! I had always thought they were to catch bad dreams lol (it only makes sense!), I had sent Ralph's long awaited reply (nearly two months) letter today as well ad motthaku's letter, speaking of motthaku is a woman I wrote a letter to ages and ages ago and I'm so grateful that she has remembered and actually still replied! I think she's gonna be the one female who will keep writing.

Something I want to speak about, because of my story that has gone up a lot of the people mainly men are saying some well nasty things about me (do I care? NO!) only because they "assume" that I only write to men in prison, why? Because it's what the papers focus on of course! Anyway, I do not only try to write to men! And if anyone of you who read this seem to think so, it's the truth I have tried writing several women but if you actually read every post I believe that somewhere in there I do say it's very hard to get a female inmate to write back. That's because a lot of the women in prison seek something else such as love and companionship someone who will be there for the long haul. Some even specify that if you're not a man not to write to them as they're looking for a relationship!  With men well men will write men not because they could be gay though I've seen men on the wap.com facebook page say they write to men as friends and penpals of course! But they also like to talk to women as well, yeah some for the attention but maybe more so for the understanding.....

One person said in a comment "its women who fall in love with an inmate who put others off from writing" or something like that. Nooooo there are actually A LOT of women and men who have fallen for inmates, yeah maybe not married ones. Some people would find it's impossible to to fall for someone just from "reading a few lines on a piece of paper" I met my husband online and we exchanged letters lots of letters. A person can fall for another in any eau shape or form.

For those of you who say our son is at risk! FUCK OFF! Do you really think I would write to inmates in America (and only in America) if I felt I would be putting my little boy at risk? No I wouldn't!  There's a reason why I write to the ones in America it's because with most of what they have done they won't be able to even get into the uk and the mass majority of them are in for life!  I have NO intentions on meeting any of them!

For those of you who tell me I should get a job. You should look at the time line of the story! Between Sept 2012-Sept 2013 at the time Scott was not working when I started writing to inmates, it was 2013 that he had started to work, and if you actually paid attention you can see why I am not working IT'S CALLED A PROLAPSED DISK AND A BAD ONE!  Oh and by the way my weight has nothing to do with anything, and yes the guys know what I look like. You can call me a fat sloth a pig a fat lard whatever you want! But what you don't know is I am a tall woman I am 6'1  and I'm pregnant dumb asses!.....who needs bullies like you? You don't have to like or accept my decision to write to inmates either why? BECAUSE I SIMPLY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!   Esp to those who are trying to use my story to get into my sons life, yes be aware if you have kids social services will do anything in their power to get involved esp if you write to men or women millions of miles away and on the other side of the world! How pathetic!.

You people should never assume things, you may think they're bad people just because they're locked up. What about Shaun? He wasnt a BAD person! He had a loving wife kids of his own. He was in an accident and lost his wife.....and later charged with her death.
What about Thomas? He has two girls one who graduated in the summer. He's in for life because his friend let him take the fall for what should have been his time, he's been tryin to appeal his conviction because he obviously doesn't belong in there!
What about Steve? He's doing 10 just for taking a phone call! He's lost his baby girl and now he's been moved further away from his other daughter! Funnily though he was moved to fci mendota where Rafael is!
What about Eric? An artist, poet, actor and rapper who has a son and a loving mother, family who obviously care about him. A wonderful aspirational man, someone who has not given up but continued as he had done before not letting anything get in his way to where he wants to be, a good friend. Yes he is a poet, he's got 10 books coming put back to back! I own one of his books which is truly amazing!

There are people in prison who may be innocent and even if they're not 
People can change but in all honesty I believe it's the judgemental ones who need be the ones to change. so maybe you should think before you judge.

Until next time.