Reply to: rhc8
10-12-12

Good morning all, :D

Thank you, Nicki and Spryte, for your feedback. It is always nice to hear from the other side of the fence (and even the other side of the world :) )

It means a lot to me that you take time from your lives to share your thoughts and brighten my day.

The blogging process is a little slower for me since I must mail my letters to a third party, it adds a step to the "snail mail" process but I hope to keep hearing from the outside world whenever you have the time, mail call is the pipeline to sunshine. :P

We had a mild earthquake here last night (4.0), coincidentally just hours before the presidential debate. Hmm... could that have been egos moving around...? :)

We don't get many quakes here in New England because it's mostly bedrock, so when they do occur it's fairly big news.

Thankfully no injuries were reported, but they are warning of aftershocks.

Mother Nature has her own way of reminding us just how insignificant we are in the struggle to manipulate the planet to our needs.

Every now and again she flexes just enough to teach us a little humility. It seems the older I get the more respect I have for life in all its forms and aspects.

Even in here I am able to see amazing beauty and diversity. We have a resident red tail hawk who hunts on the grounds and has no fear of the human population, swooping closely over our heads as he attacks the pigeon population. He is so regal looking.

We are in the middle of marshland and have an amazing array of water birds flying by all day. Great blue herons, Canadian geese (who walk the yards with us), ducks, plovers. There's the occasional eagle and osprey and squirrels who climb over the wall for all the free food.

If you look you can see the razor wire, fences, bars, walls, uniforms, etc...

Or you can see the flowerbeds, the incredible diversity of bird life, the trees changing colors for autumn, the young dogs from the training program (aid dogs) playing in the yard. The tough hardened convicts who bring extra bread & nuts to the yard to feed the birds, or do marathons to raise money for children's programs.

I am an artist, I choose to see the color and beauty that are all around me. I would much rather be fishing, but adaptability is an essential survival tool for prison life.

I am thankful for this outlet to share my thoughts - and I look forward to hearing from you, thank you for being there, for sharing and caring. Peace and love to you all.

Daniel

Daniel L. Van de Bogart
T-81483 MCI Norfolk
Box 43, Norfolk, MA 02056