Aug 26. 2013: 6:30am: Listening to 'Never Keepin' Secrets', by Babyface as I sit here watching the news, I am watching a story of a beautiful young woman with a smile that could light up a room, Laurin Edwards. She was a college kid at St. Francis University in Central Pennsylvania. Her father shot and killed her last week, he also shot his wife and son before killing himself. Thankfully the wife & son survived the shooting. Senseless acts of violence like this, I could never understand. Just because you're miserable & you hate your life, or you feel there is no hope, don't take everything away from your kids. Police were told that he attempted to murder his entire family because he was getting suspended from his job and worried about the financial stability of his family. That's the dumbest freakin' reason I ever heard to murder your entire family. It's scary what this world is coming to. I'm sick of watching the news. There's some story on there like this every week. On CNN right now they are discussing the trial of the 18 year old kid who shot and murdered a 13 month old baby because the mom wouldn't give up her purse. In prison we talk alot about why crimes are committed, or why someone did something in here or out there, but crimes like these, there is no use pondering on it because there's no logical answer. 3 teenagers in Oklahoma were recently charged with shooting a college baseball player in the back and killing him, within the last 2 weeks. When questioned by police, they admitted to it and said that they were 'bored'. I was reading an article in the paper just a few weeks ago and it said that we have 5% of the world's population here in the USA but we also have 25% of the world's prison population. We have more people locked up than in any country on this planet. Believe me, I do know it's easier just to lock people up and leave them there. But it doesn't solve the problems & most of these men & women are getting out one day. It's a cycle. I'll compare it to medical care in prison. In here we don't have good medical care. It's okay but we don't have the option of getting something fixed. All they do in here is medicate, they treat the symptoms, not the problems. The PA told me on Friday that in order for me to get an MRI it would take an act of God. He can ask for it but it will be denied by the people higher up. All he can do for my back is continue to try different anti-infammatory meds to see if any of them work. He said in order to get surgery on my badk, if it's that serious and I have a disc problem, it would take me not being able to walk at all. A friend in here has had a bad hernia for over 2 years. The doctor just approved it for him to have surgery to have it repaired. He's been in pain for 2 years. Why not just fix it 2 years ago. That's not how it works in prison. You go to the dentist in here, you have 2 options, they will drill and fill any cavities for have, or you get the tooth pulled. That's your only 2 options. You don't get caps, crowns, implants, none of that. Drill & fill or pull out. We are in prison and since the tax payers pay for our medical care in here, we get the worst possible care there is. It sucks but that's how it is. I work up and it was kinda chilly this morning. Fall is here. I like the cooler weather. I'm a winter baby so I've always preferred the cold over heat. I'm one of those people who could live in Alaska. I hate the wind, but I love the cold. But by the end of today, it'll be in the 80s. :( School's getting ready to start up. I'm sure my nephews are not ready for this. What kid is? My daughter used to love school. 6-7 years ago, when I still spoke to her mother, Krista would ask her mom to send me her homework papers that she took and did good on. She wrote me a note and told me that she wanted Daddy to know how smart she was. That just melted my heart. This is from a little girl whom I had only met one time (that photo is on my profile page) but now that she lives in some sort of childrens home, a place called The Village Network in Ohio. I hope school is as normal as possible for her. I wrote to her social worker and asked if I could correspond with Krista through her so I'm waiting on her response. I saw something on the Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN. If anyone has donated money to a charity called The Kid's Wish Network, you need to stop. I'm sure you can find this story at CNN.com. This charity raised over $127 million dollars. How much money actually went to the kids? Come on, give me a guess. Well I'll tell you. Remember your guess. The founder gets $5 million bucks. The kids got $18 million bucks. Yeah, you heard right, only 18 million from 127 million. That's insane. They received 3c on every dollar. When donating to any charity, you really have to read the fine print. Every charity does not use every penny donated for their cause. Depending on how good the charity is or not is what makes that determination. Alot of sport's figures set up charities or foundations but what the public doesn't realise is that they are not required by law to use every penny or even half of the donations for their charitable purposes. I read a lot about this when I was the president of our local Jaycee's chapter. Just be careful on who you donate money to. Read about the charity and ask questions. If donating alot of money, ask where it is going, & how much will actually be used for that purpose. No charity uses every cent. So just be wary of this. I think that's all for today. Hope I didn't depress or bore you. Take care, stay safe and be kind to one another. It's the only way to make this planet a better place. Ciao.