Myakka
by Donnie Clark
Category: Manatee County (Fla.)

President Clinton commutes Donnie's life sentence given to him for growing marijuana. A pot smoker and practical joker, a farmer and a felon, a bull rider and a business man and all done in the name of fun; in short, the life of Donnie Clark. It seems impossible that one man can pack so much fun into one life, often at the expense of others, but most at his own expense. And yet from a boy raising hell in the rural areas of Manatee County, Florida, Donnie was able to not only make his own fun, but his own kind of trouble. Riding the Brahma bull, Sam, in parades; learning how to catch and descent skunks; using rattlesnakes to get more mowing jobs, Donnie always had a stunt up his sleeve. The biggest joke was often on Donnie, not thinking about the consequences! Donnie's fame, though, came as one of the notorious Myakka Gold gang in the 1980s. He used his farming skills to grow some of the best marijuana in the country and paid the price. Convicted and doing state time, Donnie soon found himself part of the Federal RICO case. Convicted to spend his life in federal prison, Donnie did what he had done his entire life, made the best of living in prison and making his own fun. A commuted sentence by President Bill Clinton, on his last day in office, his given Donnie another chance to make his own fun on the outside. www.thedonnieclark.com