August 1, 2021
I don’t know if I told you yet that I finally met with the chaplain yesterday, 5 days after my mother passed. He was a nice concerned older gentleman. We talked for about an hour. He understood my situation and had heard about my case in the news and realizes how the media can have a bias about any situation.
He was in seminary after retiring from the airforce at 38 after 20 years of service. So he was the oldest in his class at Southeastern University / Theological Institute and was older than some of his professors…
Doc
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August 1, 2021
Sunday afternoon here and well over 100 F. They need to get more fans in this dorm or we are going to have some guys die of heat stroke and then that still probably will not get their attention.
I talked to my dad today and he said the funeral went really well and a lot more people showed up than they thought and he said they had over 100 people at the reception afterward and almost ran out of food. And he thought he would be eating leftovers from the caterers for weeks. But he did not have anything to take home and had to go over to my nephew’s house for dinner last night because he was so exhausted and sad from the day that he did not feel like going out to eat or fixing anything for himself. And some family was staying at my nephew’s and wanted him to come there for dinner.
I just got back from chow and the most undercooked 2 hot dogs with pork and beans with no pork, of course. Just beans and sauce. I only enjoyed the shredded cabbage.
The Olympics have been kind of strange to watch with no fans and the competitions are, it seems like between China and the USA for the most part and everyone else is way behind. I think the US will pull away in the end like they usually do. But we have had so many good athletes have to pull out because of covid and testing positive, but with no symptoms so far. The Delta variant is spreading bad especially down here in Florida.
I am going to sit down and get some advice from a law clerk concerning my case later this evening.
Doc
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August 2, 2021
I know what you mean about the Delta variant. It seems quite serious. I noticed that it’s pretty bad in Florida because that was one of the top stories at the CBC website this morning. First it was the Canadian Olympic news and then after that, “Florida, COVID-19 epicentre in the U.S., breaks record with more than 21,000 new cases.” So if the news made it up to here, it must be serious. Mostly CBC just reports on what’s happening in Canada with regards to covid.
I looked up your Mom’s obituary. There was a beautiful picture of her when she was young—probably in her 20’s. I’m glad you were able to watch a couple of movies and be able to get your mind off the sadness for some time. I know there aren’t any words, really, one just has to go through it.
Jennifer
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August 3, 2021
I hope you had a wonderful birthday.
Thank you for your kind words and support as I go through these trying times. Hyrah said words beyond her years when I talked to her. She said, ''it is sad losing grandma, but tomorrow at her funeral it should be celebration of her life.'' Such profound words from a 10 year old.
After losing mom, I really do realize how important parents are in our lives. I regret not staying in contact more and talking with mom over the years because she always enjoyed talking to me and me likewise, although I would often talk more to my dad about sports and of course the Corn Huskers. We had a loving and supportive mother and we all should be thankful for that. In prison I meet guys every day that never had that, some never even had a mother, and some had a very abusive mother like Samira’s.
Doc
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August 5, 2021
So I’m going through the divorce petition. I can understand why you would go out with other people and take it to the next level because filing a divorce petition is a very serious threat to a marriage and if it really went through, you would want to share that challenging, traumatizing time with someone who could love and support you.
I watched an interesting British BBC drama yesterday called The Capture about a law enforcement agency in London that was doctoring (they called it “correcting”) CCTV footage to falsify evidence. They justified it by saying that the intelligence was all solid. For example, they knew the people had had a meeting, but they just hadn’t been able to record it, so they created video to “recreate” the meeting in order to secure a conviction. Of course, it might have served a good purpose in getting terrorists into prison, but it was a terrifying power that these people had in terms of manipulating and creating evidence. But, of course, we saw that in your trial. If they could have, they would have recreated the whole thing for the jurors to watch! They certainly did that with all the documentaries that came out afterwards—so the general public is left with the impression that they’ve seen your private life, your marriage and the crime itself in all the reenactments. So this BBC show seemed relevant.
I noticed an increase in number of visitors to the blog yesterday. I poked around the internet and discovered you’re going to be in an upcoming CNN documentary. They’ve just announced they have a new season of their show, Sex & Murder, and they’ve published a line-up of all the shows this season. Your episode airs on September 19th.
Jennifer
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August 11, 2021
I finally got a haircut and shave but it was so hot and humid that I am itching from all the trimmings stuck to my neck and back. Fcol I have to wait and get into the shower late because with this heat and humidity the showers stay full with a waiting list 5 deep all the time, especially for the good shower heads with timer buttons that last more than 5 seconds. I hate having to keep hitting the button on the wall, especially when you have soap or shampoo in your eyes right when it shuts off. Prison life is terrible.
We did get a treat yesterday. We got two small chunks of watermelon, the first watermelon I have had in over 4 years now. I used to love watermelon in the summer especially and it had to almost be ice cold on the verge of freezing was my favorite way of consuming it.
Doc
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August 11, 2021
I’m doing a class online about children’s literature. I agree with C.S. Lewis that the best children’s books aren’t just enjoyed by children. In fact, if they’re only enjoyed by children, they’re not very good.
I just finished The Snow Queen. It’s a lot like Narnia. And Gerda’s bravery and innocence are what helped her to defeat the Snow Queen and rescue her friend from the ice palace. But she had to suffer a lot of hardship along the way, including the harsh cold and not being properly outfitted for it. The good reindeer that carried her to the palace asked a woman who had access to magic if she could give Gerda some gifts in order to rescue her friend, but the old woman said, she has all she needs within herself. She has come this far and been aided all along the way by people and animals, if she succeeds, it will be because of the strength that is already within her.
OK, so that was beautiful because at the point of desperation, little Gerda starts to pray the Lord’s Prayer…
Jennifer
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August 12, 2021
I was late getting on the kiosk to send a letter because we got called out to canteen for the 1st time in forever. I had to stand in line in the sun and heat for almost 2 hours to get what we call in the chain gang yum yums and wham whams. Lol
It has been really, really unbearably hot here this August. There is a tropical storm, possibly a hurricane, coming our way. The only good thing is it may cool down a little once it gets here and rains for a few day.
I am struggling through a sinus infection and I think that was what was causing my headaches and then the stress turned them into migraine headaches.
Doc
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August 13, 2021
I spent some time reading up on Tropical Depressions and tropical waves. I don’t know why one is capitalized and the other one isn’t. Oh well. I see that Fred and Grace are coming at you although they don’t expect Fred to be as bad as initially predicted.
OK, I admit it, I was lured by clickbait and now I am reading an article online about ten things Kate, Duchess of Cambridge is not allowed to do. The first is that she is not allowed to give out autographs. She can only sign official documents, with permission of the Queen.
Two, she can’t profit from any work. She would have to give any proceeds to charity. And any photos she takes that are released to the public don’t benefit her personally.
Three, like anyone who dines with the Queen, if the Queen finishes eating, everyone at the table has to put down their cutlery and stop eating. I’ll remember that one if I ever dine with royalty someday. Lol
Four, she or any royal can’t eat mussels or oysters because of potential food poisoning risks. OK, that wouldn’t personally bother me. I can’t eat slimy things from the sea. I think shrimp looks revolting. Do you love shrimp? I’ll bet you do.
Five, royals can’t have flashy nails. She’s allowed to have soft pink nails or a neutral clear.
Six, no leather. Nothing too flashy in terms of clothes.
Seven, she can’t vote or try to influence things politically.
Eight, no provocative clothing.
Nine, black clothing for mourning only. Well, that would eliminate 80% of my wardrobe. Lol It’s interesting that the royals always have to travel with a black suit or black dress when they go abroad, just in case they have to attend an unexpected funeral. Or, if it’s someone back in the UK who has died, they can get off the plane wearing the appropriate black.
Ten, nobody in the royal family plays Monopoly. This is a relatively recent prohibition. Prince Andrew banned it in 2008, calling it a “vicious” past-time. I have to admit, playing Monopoly never brought out the vicious in me. But maybe it does for some people.
OK, back to the real news. I see that Governor DeSantis is in the headlines for his stand on covid and for Florida being an epicentre for the Delta variant.
Jennifer
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August 13, 2021
I finally was able to get on the kiosk today. I have been busy from waking up until now. I have been to 3 classes and to the law library and we had another inspection early this morning so everything was delayed while they did a thorough inspection of a dorm because someone was stabbed yesterday from that dorm while waiting in line at the chow hall. It is not even safe in prison to go eat. I thank God every day that something like that does not happen to me.
I have been going over all of the files on my case and there is so much that I never saw. I am learning so much. One major point is of the golf club planting issue and the fraud brought on when they obtained a search warrant a year after Samira’s death to search a home that was empty and put up for sale with a real estate agent. My dad had reported the house broken into the prior week and did not see anything missing. He was not looking for something, like a golf club, being planted in the house.
Doc
[Dale Folsom, a cellmate of Doc’s in the county jail, told several inmates about his collusion in the Frasch trial and that he had been the one to break into the Frasch home and leave the golf club in the master bedroom. Testifying in court that Doc had ‘confessed’ to him that he had murdered his wife had resulted in a reduced sentence and even though Doc’s lawyer had gotten him to admit that a man would do anything to stay out of jail, the jury seemed to accept at face value his testimony.
As part of his 3850 motion, Doc now needed to track down at least one of the inmates to get an affidavit.]
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August 13, 2021
Just back from the law library and am exhausted. It is at least 110 F heat index today.
A little help in our search for —. He is from the Crawfordville / Wakulla area. What a coincidence that that is where I ended up in prison now…
Doc
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August 14, 2021
OK, I just got back from a rather vigorous conversation with S about laundry. He did a load yesterday that smells like it sat in an old basement for twenty years. In the past, he has said to me that I should let him know if there is a problem with the laundry because he is experimenting with using less detergent. So I went to him and said, this particular load stinks. He said it’s my fault. I said, ???!!! He said, it’s because we generate too much laundry and by the time the weekend rolls around, it’s in a big stinky pile for him to wash. I said, but that’s the reason people do laundry, to get rid of the stink. Traditionally, washing laundry has made that odour of unclean clothes go away. I mean, that is, after all, the purpose of laundry.
He put up a wall and basically wouldn’t budge on his point that because we generate too much laundry, and it sits for a pile for the week, it is my fault that our clothing comes out stinking. I explained to him that although we are poor, I do not expect to go around wearing clothing that smells worse for having been washed! I mean, it really does push me to the limit. I went to bed wearing one of the shirts from this load and it’s more than I can deal with. And it’s not just one or two items, it’s the whole load. When this happens and the towels stink, and we dry our hands on the towel, our hands smell awful! This is the sort of thing that becomes the straw that breaks the camel’s back, as far as I’m concerned. I left the basket filled with “clean” clothing that stinks with him and came out into the living room and took a lot of deep breaths to calm down.
And then I went back into the room and told him I’d call a suicide hotline if something wasn’t done about it because I don’t want to live in world where clothing smells worse after being washed and I think God would forgive me because He’s the one who invented the laws of physics and life isn’t supposed to work that way.
So now S is redoing that load of laundry.
Jennifer
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August 15, 2021
One thing I’ve noticed about cats is how they park themselves right where they know they will be in the most way. Right now, Marmalade is having a nap and he has plunked himself right down where my feet normally go. Butter does something similar with me—she just plunks herself down on my mouse so that if I want to access it, it’s like getting an egg from a chicken. And one thing all the cats do is take naps in the areas where there is the highest traffic. Our house is already small and we’re tripping over one another and then add a couple of cats who choose the narrowest passageways and sometimes one is literally hopping around to get by everyone, every cat, and everything.
OK, what did I do today? I noticed that the apples on the tree in the backyard looked decent and even though they normally get harvested in late September, I looked it up online and it’s not dangerous to eat apples that aren’t fully ripe, they’re just more tart. So I picked some and made an apple crisp. It turned out well. We don’t have ice cream but I made some custard to go along with it and I liked it even better. So that was our tea.
I was just about to put on headphones and blast my music to have a little escape, but then F asked me what music I’d be listening to and I said, “an eclectic mix.” So now I’m playing it without headphones for both of us. Right now we’re listening to John McDermott sing Wild Mountain Thyme. After that, my playlist has Heartbeat (Buddy Holly), Sealed with a Kiss (Brian Hyland), House of the Rising Sun (The Animals), Daydream Believer (The Monkees), Take on Me (a-ha)… as I said, quite the eclectic mix. After that I am going to pop some popcorn. I haven’t done that for awhile for a movie night.
Everyone is talking about Afghanistan these days. My favourite British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, had only two rules in life. The first was don’t invade Afghanistan. (The second was that a gentleman’s club should be 75% gentlemen and 25% crooks just to keep it interesting.)
Jennifer
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August 16, 2021
… Of course, the British already had their disastrous withdrawals from Afghanistan more than once, back in the 1800’s. In fact, I’m reading a book right now about them called, wait for it, The Afghan Wars. Yes, not a hugely imaginative title but it’s an interesting book. In fact, it’s a positively fascinating read because it was written in the late 1800’s shortly after it all happened.
It’s making my head spin with the constant shifting alliances and everyone breaking their alliances to ally with whoever is convenient at the time. The players are the Shah of Persia, the lord of Kabul, and the Sikhs coming from what we now call Pakistan. The British are there to “advise” as diplomats and negotiate alliances, along with the Russians. Just when I think I’m following the thread of the story, all the alliances shift and I don’t know who is on the side of the British and who is getting help from the Russians! Funny, it’s like the Cold War before the Cold War.
Jennifer
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August 19, 2021
I watched a couple of SAMIRAH DS music videos and cried a little yesterday and showed Mexico, he was impressed with her voice as well as her beauty. I realized that she spelled her name or the music video producer misspelled her name or it may be spelled that way in Madagascar SAMIRAH. She was adamant about the spelling of Hyrah and Skynnah having that ah ending so that makes sense. Samira was a mystery with some things like that. Some things I would ask her why and she would respond because that is what she wanted and that was it. I knew not to press any further because she might go into a bi polar rage. TD
Doc
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