“A little pice of heaven in a cup”
Death Blog
The Lone Star State of Texas!
June 3rd, 2011 3:45am
Welcome to my nightmare… tales from a dead man!
“Do your best, prepare for the worst then trust God to bring Victory.”
We started our day yesterday without one of the death watch members… Texas Carried out the execution of my neighbor and you could feel the emptiness during the morning hours in which I would of normally offered my morning greetings and possibly a joke or wise crack to get one laughing, but yesterday morning there was only silence and heavy hearts on this section of death.
The day was then started with my normal rituals of prayers marking off another day of the calendar; looking at all the photos of friends and loved ones I have on display and trying to embrace a few cherished memories of the past. Once all that is complete and a few cups of coffee are poured down me, the reality of things start to slowly creep back into the picture and the mind starts to get worked up and the inner questions start to flow…
So as the day rolls into progress I’m set up for recreation which would be outside time, and not a cloud in the sky, so I am expecting a real good sunburn which I welcome with open arms at any given moment. Then I was summoned to a legal visit in which I was able to speak with an awesome soul who has been working so hard to save my life and has been traveling all about Texas in order to do this… and Ms. Annie, if you are reading this… Thank you for all you have done!
I was also informed by this wonderful person that my grandmother, who raised me, and has been in frail health has possibly passed away in 2009 and this is the first I’ve learned of the news. The tears started to fall last night as I sat here and looked at her photos. Grandma, I love you. I hope you are at peace.
So as I’m brought back to this section of death after having had the legal visit and a burger and salad and soda and pie (thank you!) it’s now time for my recreation and today I’m slotted to venture out with my other neighbor, Mr. Lee Taylor otherwise known as “Tiny”… and there’s nothing Tiny about him. So I’m out there soaking up the sun when the officers doing escorts bring him out and place him in the other outside cage and then our time begins.
Tiny arrives and has just come from his two week death pack review with the Major of this Unit… and what this is, two weeks prior to ones execution date you must complete the proper papers, what to do with your belongings, who’s to be your 5 witness’s at execution, spiritual advisor, final mean, etc. etc. etc. Yes the finalized papers that must be perfect and sent to Huntsville Texas. You are also able to make your commissary run again and it’s a ritual for everyone to get a pint of ice cream for death watch… as a final gesture of kindness.
So as we are out in the 100 degree hot sun, laughing, sharing memories of the past and just talking about absolutely nothing and everything they bring the ice creams out to us and here we are… two Texas condemned monsters as the media portrays us, eating ice cream in the hot sun. Loving Life and acting as kids. It was an awesome moment. The sunshine was blazing down on us and what makes it all the better is we have a pint of Blue Bell… and in Texas that’s a little piece of heaven in a cup.
Now as I’m walking around in the cage my friend Tiny says, “Hey I bet you won’t eat this grasshopper”… what did you say was my reply? He looked at me with this smile on his face and said “I bet you’re scared to eat this grasshopper”. Well out on the recreation yard there are a lot a small grasshoppers and he has one in h is hand, and this smile a mile wide on his face… and me being the person I am, replied I bet I will… and he handed it to me through the bars and down it went… Tiny was laughing so hard I thought he’d passed from lack of air… but then it was my turn and I quickly caught another unsuspecting grasshopper and said I know you’re afraid to eat one… and to my surprise, not only did he eat one, but he ate two so he could contain the championship grasshopper eating award… which he proudly earned.
So not only did I have food from the legal visit, I had ice cream and a grasshopper. What a day it was! HA HA HA! And 3 hours later we are brought back in, sunburned and fat full! Now we are showered and our day is complete and reality comes flooding back because two more men are brought to our section of death. My neighbor who was executed less than 24 hours, his cell has just been given to another… and to my surprise, another friend! Texas kills one, and adds two more. The killing never ends…
True American Till Death
Mark Stroman
Tamouzmedia3's Weblog 
June 16, 2011 at 9:05 am
Dear Mark,
I was happy to read that you and Mr. Taylor had a good time during your recreation and even an ice cream. 😉
Yet, there´s one thing I have to remark.
I´m not the type who´s catching spiders that came into the flat alive and carrying them out, and neither am I a vegetarian, but I do not agree with the needless killing of animals “just for fun”.
I hope you are not angry with me now but you are a person I´m taking serious and that means, I won´t treat you like a child, but also say when I think I have something to criticize.
Like always, my thoughts are with you and the other ones on death row, today especially with Mr. Taylor. I know it´s his scheduled date today and I´ll enclose him in my prayers.
June 16, 2011 at 6:37 pm
yes your grandma died in 2009 .Your mother died in 2010 charlotte had a strok in 2010 lost one eye.
June 16, 2011 at 9:59 am
Oh, yes, and of course, my condolence about your grandma and also about your cell neighbor.
By the way, got your letter and sent a reply; maybe, if everything goes as it should, it will reach you in time.
June 16, 2011 at 2:10 pm
What i have learn to know you Mark, i can imagine what kind of fun you and tiny had rec yard. DR is sad and dark place, but good friend, icecream, sun, and few grasshopper can make it better day.
June 16, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Eating Grasshoppers, Mark Stroman you should be ashamed of yourself!! : ) : ) ; ) Bearing in mind in Spain I’ve got a pet one that lives on the porch, well to be fair it’s a fkin huge cricket called Ricky,Ricky the cricket. Sits on my chair while I’m eating. So I suggest next time you have a visit from a grasshopper, you give it a name and don’t eat the poor little f—er : ) I’ll forgive ya xx
June 17, 2011 at 6:11 pm
I was gonna bring some dough to my next visit to get you food from the machine but I’ll just grab a few skeeters and roaches on my way in instead : )
June 22, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Hey Mark, I am sending you some pictures of grasshoppers doing it! Let them keep on rockin.