Prison. Part 1.

There are a few things in life that can instantly catch my attention whether they are incorporated into casual conversation or mentioned in a sleazy commercial. These two topics happen to be prison and sharks. I’ll start with prisons because I just visited  Alcatraz. I suppose I should probably cover sharks too since those hang out in the bay area — as rumor would have it.

Everything about prisons fascinates me… I figure it’s probably because I’m utterly terrified of going to prison and being forced into some jail house woman love triangle. *shudder* I try not to think about that. If Lockup RAW is on or any other prison show for that matter I will drop what I’m doing and be glued to the screen for the next hour. I, heaven forbid, could even forget to eat if there was a prison show marathon on MSNBC. I love watching how they survive, the dynamics, how smart 85% of the prisoners are and most of all how freaking creative they can be with what they have. Not always in a positive way, but still. I’m also horrified by so much of it. It’s like a bad highway accident you can’t help but stare at due to the sheer horror. You want to turn away, but your head is permanently glued in that direction, I’m helpless and fascinated all at the same time. That my friends is how I feel about prisons.

So imagine, me, going to Alcatraz. My jaw dropped, hit the cement and dragged behind me throughout the 3 hours I wandered the island. Hmm, maybe that was part of the reason I fell down the stairs? Boom, boom, boom, ouch. Dented camera… but otherwise crisis averted. The one disappointment in Alcatraz was the lack of eeriness. There wasn’t any part of it that sent chills up my spine… the way you imagine a prison should. At least any good prison shown on MSNBC. But, then again I set the stakes high.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the island…