| I have been corresponding with William Davenport for the past eight years. He is a man of intelligence and enjoys reading war history. His sister, Stacy, tells me she taught him to play chess and they used to play alot when he lived with her some years ago. What I really like about Bill is his honesty. When he writes he does so in such a way that one knows exactly what mood he's in. He has a dry sense of humour and this and his Mom's support have kept him going during the years of incarceration. ( I think regular letters have helped alot as well) He has been in two really bad prisons where he was on lockdown most of the time and his cell-mates were for the most part drug addicts. I admire him for getting out of those two places unscathed altho' I know it was not easy. He has said that there were many things he did not tell me. Bill was married and has a little daughter and he misses her very much. He still has a long way to go to freedom but is hoping his sentence will be reduced, one way or another. He likes to be self-supporting and has a job at the facility where he is at the moment. He listens to classic rock music, enjoys reading and corresponding. Before he was incarcerated he used to do rock climbing in his 4 wheeler. He also makes motorcycle models out of bits of junk. What keeps Bill sane is letters and so I am enclosing his latest address in the hope that people will write him..male or female. He answers all the letters he receives. William Davenport P31631 ASP 510-1-76u PO Box 9 Avenal CA 93204 USA ** This address is new as from 07/07 Follow links to a picture of the motorcycle model plus the enlarged 4 wheeler drawing ############## 2007 Update: Bill sent me pictures of an example of the new motorcycle models he is making. If you interested in obtaining one of these beautiful works of art please contact him and he will give you further information. |
- FOUR LEAF CLOVERS People do wonder why I take the time to write and spend money on people thousands of kilometres away. People I've never met and quite possibly never will...and people who are ostracised by society in general. In fact...from my experiences in the past 9 years of corresponding with inmates in the USA ..I have now come to the conclusion that it is mostly those who profess to love God that are the most judgemental. This does make me sad but it also makes me more determined to carry on with my small " mission" as I know I am bringing the love of Jesus to the downtrodden and I am " visiting" those in prison..as Christ said we should do. What do I get in return? Well..I get access to their minds, presents, advice, affection and friendship. Four years a go my friend Troy on death row in Florida sent me a 500 piece puzzle depicting a harvest scene so I could share Thanksgiving with him. We don't celebrate it in Sweden for obvious reasons..but he wanted to share the festival with me anyway. I had a great time putting that puzzle together and now have it framed and hanging in my den. Once I received from my friend Bill in California three 4 leafed clovers which he had found in the yard. He stuck them to the letter with plastic based floor polish and said he hoped they would bring me luck in finding a new job which was rather threatened at that time. He also sent me a great drawing of his 4-wheeler with my own tag attached. My other friend in Florida, Curtis, who had been on death row but has had his sentence turned around...sent me the Bible he had with him while he was there. This Bible is grubby and well-thumbed and had a very mouldy kind of smell inside it when I first got it. I guess it reflected the atmosphere of the place it came from. He also sent me a little jewelery box that he made out of ice cream sticks and it has a little drawer on the side. It is beautifully lined with red felt...not an easy thing to do I think. I also get cards for my birthday and at Christmas and the odd photo. In closing I can honestly say that I feel very blessed by my good friends and love them all in spite of their faults. As Leonard Cohen sings in one of his songs...it is the cracks in us that let the light in. |
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| My Penpal Bill |
| AnnEz / Sweden / 1999-2006 |
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