Alcatraz

the infamous island of Alcatraz, maximum security facility with no wall

Journal Entry
January 27, 2006
San Francisco

Celebrated Australia day last night and felt it in my head when I first cracked my eyes open this morning at about 7:00am. By the time my alarm went off at 9:30 I felt I was able to get up and make it to the free breakfast in "The Ballroom". Definitely didn't feel the need to put clothes on, the PJs were just perfect as they were. Okay, let's be real, breakfast in PJs is always preferred but this morning it was pretty much a necessity!

Scarfed down a bagel with cream cheese and jam (yummy), chugged many a glass of apple juice and forced down a much needed cup of (very thick) coffee. Followed breakfast with a long, hot shower and, thanks to a couple of guys here, a little puff. Felt like a whole new woman after that so I strapped myself up with my camera, grabbed Michael and off to Alcatraz we went.

Alcatraz, now that made for an extremely interesting day. I've never actually been inside the walls, and cells, of a prison before which I guess is something to be grateful for. I thought I would feel a little creeped out for being there but what I found was that I was completely fascinated. For a few dollars more you can get a set of headphones and take yourself on an audio tour. I'm not always keen to jump on that bandwagon but I got plenty of recommendations to do so I picked one up. The tour was narrated by various former guards and inmates of Alcatraz. Under the narration tracks are numerous sounds from the days when the prison was active. Sounds like the cell doors slamming shut (a sound byte that has been used in many a film you would never expect), a riot in the mess hall, the warden's footsteps along the main corridor dubbed as "Broadway" by the prisoners. Much like New York City's Broadway, Alcatraz's Broadway is like the prison's main drag and divides the A and B blocks. The cells are stacked 3 rows high and one can only imagine (with a little help form the audio tour of course) the chaos that was constantly looming in the air.

One former inmate spoke of a time when he gazed out the mess hall window and saw a young woman walking down the path, probably having just visited one of the notorious prisoners. Upon seeing her he realized she was the first woman he'd seen in about 5 years. There's no doubt, that had to have been a tough thing to realize.

Of course there were many escape attempts from the island of Alcatraz during it's prison years and upon arriving to the island you have to wonder what would make it so hard to succeed? It was the premiere maximum security prison if it's time and yet there is no wall around it's perimeter to keep the prisoners, some of America's most infamous and notorious, inside the compound. The island is a mere 2 mile (wish I could convert that to kilometres for the rest of the world) swim from the Frisco Bay. Unbeknownst to many, however, the sea that surrounds Alcatraz, though it may look calm, is not. The tides and currents are strong and the water is frigid on a good day, making it very hard to successfully escape the rock. Of course with the level of desperation that many prisoners felt while gazing at life in the Frisco bay, I can understand at least making the attempt. The action of the city that can be witnessed from the sparse and tiny windows throughout the building would be torture to anyone. The longing for a life that is free would truly be overwhelming. It's a level of desperation so deep I'm not sure I can even imagine it, though being inside those walls you certainly do try. None of the escape attempts are known to have been successful but there are still a few men of Alcatraz on the FBIs most wanted list. More than likely though they were swallowed by the cold waters of the Pacific, never to be seen again but if you do see them America's Most Wanted will give you 1 million dollars so eyes peeled everyone!