Time off for Good Behaviour

Today I went to Alcatraz, possibly one of the best things I've done in the US. I was half expecting to be a bit bored and to rush through the cellblock just glancing at the info cards like I usually end up doing in museums (with the exception of GOMA which I always enjoy) but I was completely engrossed in the whole thing.

The boat takes about 20 minutes to sail the mile and a half to the island and you're greeted by a tour guide who makes sure everyone knows where they can and cannot go, where the toilets are and where the shops are. Then you're pretty much left to your own devices. I went straight up to Alcatraz and took the self-guided (free) audio tour which has won awards year in, year out and features the voices of former guards and inmates (the majority by Leon 'Whitey' Thomspon, a bank robber who was sentenced to Alcatraz for 15 years and never received a single visitor or letter) giving their accounts of prison life. There is a group tour with a guide but that seems slightly pointless when the self-guided tour is so good, even telling you where to walk to and where to stand to get a good view. Obviously everyone else is on the same self-guided audio tour so there are a few bottle-neck situations but being on the first boat out ensured it was the minimal amount of disruption and you can pause your tape at any time.

Alcatraz was the only American prison at the time to give inmates hot showers. By getting them accustomed to relative luxury they were less likely to attempt to escape to the icy waters of San Francisco bay. They were also given healthy, good quality food that was presented nicely on plates - certainly not the bread and water gruel served in other prisons. As part of the tour you are encouraged to go into some of the cells to feel how small they are - 5ftx9ftx7ft. The only cells larger than this are in isolation but they are in total darkness. Leon's method of keeping himself sane in isolation was to take a button off his shirt and throw it in the air. He'd then spend the next few hours crawling around in the pitch black trying to find it. When he found it, he'd do it all again sometimes for days at a time.



Aside from the prison, Alcatraz played host to a demonstration by Indians (their term so I'm assuming it's right) who were annoyed with the government for not following through on a treaty allowing land that is no longer used as government land to be reclaimed by Indians. When Alcatraz, the prison, was closed due to rising costs and a change from punishment to rehabilitation of offenders, a group of Indian students landed on the island to make their point. It worked and although they never lived on Alcatraz for any length of time the government did honour the treaty at other similar sites.

Alcatraz was also an area that people aspired to live in even though it meant a boat trip to do shopping or go to school. Originally the housing was for guards and their families but other families started to move to Alcatraz for cheaper housing and it's low crime rate. Apparently it was common to keep doors unlocked and to use a neighbour's bike or lawnmower on the basis that it'd be returned at some point. Quote from a former resident: "We knew where all the bad guys were so we didn't have to worry about things". Fantastic. Who'd have thought Alcatraz would have been an area people aspired to live in - not quite the same with Barlinnie.

It was all go on the tourist express yesterday as well. I walked the Golden Gate bridge, well part of it anyway. It was really windy and crowded so I walked to the first big tower, took a few pics including one of the 'Crisis Counselling' hotline and turned back. My second stop on the tourist express was Lombard St, the 'crookedest street'. It was another place I just wanted to see just so I could say I'd seen it. Kind of cool but dominated by tourists which is to be expected. I pity the people who live on this street, must be so annoying having coach tours pull up outside your front door every 10 minutes.

Last night was spent in the ballroom with Wyatt, a film student using the hostel as a base while he finds an apartment and Matt and Colin, 19 year olds from Chicago who started every sentence with the word 'Dude'. As the night wore on this got funnier and funnier until Colin thought I was making fun of him and informed me that I had an accent too. I thought he'd fallen out with me at that point but he was talking to me this morning so he's either put it behind him or his hangover got the better of him. Not sure.

Tonight is another free dinner (yaay) and maybe a trip to a few gay bars in the Mission with Wyatt... It's fun to stay at the YMCA!