from A Thousand Days in San Quentin

by Lawrence Blankenship

02/14/07

To whom it may concern: Welcome to A Thousand Days. Happy Valentine’s Day. Well, today was very hard for me. Three years ago today, one of my daughters died in a hospital bed in Hollywood. A chamber in her heart stopped and a new nurse gave her the wrong medication. It speeded her heart. And she flat lined. Her name is Gelisa Marie Blankenship and she is my Valentine’s present. God has showed me that on earth Valentine’s Day should be everyday not just once a year. It is not the flowers or the gifts, it’s the love we as human beings have to share that will make this world a better place.

In life if we show love to everyone we meet, God will love us and bless us even more in return. This year on Valentine’s Day, I’m in one of the oldest prisons in America and I’m writing to you to show you that by the will of God, anything can happen to you and for you.