Penitentiary Life, Week 9

I have to tell you, last week I gave a tour to a group of students that blew me away. They were visiting Eastern State as part of a civics class. It was a group of 7th graders from a Catholic school in New Jersey. Besides the fact that they were very polite and well-behaved, they actually seemed interested in what I was telling them! (Maybe it doesn't happen that often, so that when it does, you can really appreciate it ...)

Anyway, we got to Death Row, and after they had a chance to see it, they were asking about prisoners who had been there. I mentioned that one person was considered to be the mastermind for the 1961 uprising where the inmates took over the prison. One girl asked if he was then put to death, and I said that no, he was still in prison somewhere else in Pennsylvania, but he had been beaten so badly after the 1961 event, that they had given him last rites. Then she asked what "last rites" were, when one of the teachers cut in and said, "Sacrament of the Sick," (which is what last rites are called in the Catholic Church). She wondered if he "deserved" last rites, since it "didn't sound like he was truly sorry." At this point, the other students, as well as the teachers and chaperones, started discussing who "deserves" forgiveness, whether or not it is only up to God, and if there should be a death penalty at all. After a few minutes, one of the teachers said, "See - this is good, and one of the reasons we wanted to bring you guys here. When we get back to school tomorrow, we should do some serious research on these topics, and have a discussion about them."

I have been thinking about those kids ever since, they (and their teachers and chaperones) really impressed me. The kids seemed to have a true idea that there are issues larger than the ones like where did they leave their cell phones, or who is going to what party, etc. And the teachers and chaperones seemed willing to discuss these things with them, rather than shy away or change the subject. Granted, the students were 7th graders, so a lot could change by the time they become adults. But I would like to think that if they are that articulate and thoughtful at this stage, they will become adults who are actually willing to address issues and problems that they will be very likely to inherit.

Enough Already!

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic:

10 Celebrities You're Tired Of:*

(*Some of these are couples, but I am tired of them together and/or singly.)

1. Oprah (actually I'm so tired of her, she could be numbers 1-10 ...)

2. Brangelina

3. TomKat

4. Octomom

5. Jon and Kate (with or without the 8)

6. Gwyneth Paltrow

7. Farrah Fawcett (I'm sorry she is so ill, but so are lots of people)

8. Ashton Kutcher and Dummi Moore

9. Madonna

10. Julia Roberts (always and forever)

I shall refrain from commenting further on any of the above, as well as some who didn't make my list, because a) it's not actually important, b) there's not enough time in the universe, and c) they are unlikely to fade quietly into oblivion anyway ...

Such Excitement!

OK, so maybe that subject line is a bit over-the-top for what you will read and see here, but it is what passes for true excitement at Chez Ravell'd Sleave.

Local Blogger Wins Prize!

That would be me, and I did indeed win a very cool prize recently:

This little glass fishy! Shan was holding a contest, and happily, I was the winner! I am especially taken with him, since he is mainly green and blue, and those are two of my favorite colors. Also, my zodiac sign is Pisces, so I think it was kismet.

Amazingly, Shan made this little guy - that to me is more than amazing.

He's ready for his close-up, Mr. DeMille:

I don't know about you, but he makes me very happy with his cheerful colors and fishy self. Thank you so much, Shan!

Local Knitter Finishes Project!

Once again, that would be me, and the finished project is the Silk Kerchief. I finished it yesterday, and wove in the ends. I'm hoping a nice soak will make it softer, and that blocking it will even things out, shape-wise.

I am more than pleased with how it turned out, though my feelings have not changed one iota about the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn - as a matter of fact, if anyone wants the leftovers, let me know, I would be happy to send them so that I do not ever come across them again in my stash. I would guess I have approximately 1/2 of each skein left.

Local Man to Appear on TV!

That would be The Tim, who will be appearing tomorrow on the show called "Speak Up Philly" on Channel 57 (one of the local CW stations), at 8:00 a.m. He and a representative from the Free Library of Philadelphia will be talking about an upcoming event at the library.

Do I smell a local Emmy????

Test Knitters Needed!

Remember the Zach Attack Hat I knit for my great-nephew Zach for his 3rd birthday? (Blogged here and modeled here.) I received a couple of e-mails asking me if I was going to write up a pattern for it. At first I thought I wouldn't, since it was not really something that seemed all that original. But after giving it some thought, and recalling how frustrating it was trying to find a pattern that matched what I had in my head, I decided it might not be such a bad idea to write up the pattern. I spent a lot of time checking through various knitting reference books to get the basic idea and sizing, and though many of you design complicated things on a regular basis, this was a real leap of faith for me.

Before I present it as a free pattern, I would like a couple of other people to try knitting it to see if my directions make sense. There is the solid version, which I knit for Zach, and a striped version that I wrote up, but have not knit. If you are a beginning knitter, or someone who might be interested for whatever reason to try either one, please let me know, and I'll send the pattern to you via e-mail. Unfortunately, I can't offer to send yarn and needles as well, due to current financial restraints. (Maybe once The Tim has a paying TV gig ...)

Local Cat Relaxes!

OK, that's not really news, or even all that exciting, but I hope everyone has as relaxing a weekend as Jetsam, who started his holiday weekend yesterday:

Penitentiary Life, Week 8

When last I regaled you with any tales of my life as a tour guide at Eastern State Penitentiary, you met "Donald," aka Boy o' Questions. Well, last week there were no Donalds (at least not on any of my tours), which I will admit was a relief.

However, this past Sunday was Alumni Reunion Day, when former guards and inmates return with friends and family for a barbecue followed by a Q&A session open to the public. I was really curious to see how this worked. I guess I have watched too many old prison movies, where guards and inmates are at each others' throats just because they are. It's not that I really thought anything awful would happen, I just wanted to see what the interactions would be like. They were quite what you would expect from any group of people who used to be together all of the time, and then went their separate ways. It was a sense of overall friendliness, and what sounded like good-natured ribbing.

Of course, I realized later that a) many inmates could not attend even if they wanted to, since they are still in prison someplace else, and b) that if you were a person with a true grudge, you would be unlikely to attend the reunion. (I know - duh!)

However, it did mean that I had conversations with visitors that I never really expected to have with anyone during my lifetime, once I'd stopped to think about it.

For instance, one of the attendees stopped me to ask a question. He had what appeared to be his family with him, including some very young children. He wanted to know where the exhibit case that had the confiscated shivs was located, because he couldn't find it where it was the last time he was there for Alumni Reunion. I told him that a visitor had broken into it a couple of years ago, and stole a couple, so now those were kept in the prison archives. He wanted to know if he could see them, and I said he should ask the archivist, who was on site for the day. To which he responded, "Well, I sure hope we can see them, I wanted to show my family. Especially my grandchildren here - because I made a lot of those!"

Another guy stopped me to tell me which guard tower used to be his station. I mentioned that my supervisor, who has been everyplace else on site, had never been able to get into that guard tower, because no one can get the door to open. At which point, he gave me detailed instructions on using a blowtorch and a crowbar to open "any rusted door" I might come across. He even made me repeat them back to him to be sure I understood!

I figure it's always good to learn new things. And now if the need arises, I know who to call when I need a shiv that is well-made, and how to handle myself if I ever get trapped in a room with a rusted door - provided of course, I'm carrying my blowtorch and crowbar ...

Ten on Tuesday

I've seen this on Carole's blog, and being that I love lists, thought I would sign up for the reminders each week. So welcome to my very first Ten on Tuesday!

Today's topic: Ten Favorite Cities

(In no particular order, just places I've actually visited/lived, as they entered my brain ...)

1. Philadelphia - well, duh, I live here. But I've lived here now longer than I have most places in my life, and it really is a great place. Very approachable, extremely walkable, and has something for everyone. Plus, the people are *always* interesting, for better or for worse. :-)

2. District of Columbia - DC is a great place, if you don't let the people who are way too impressed with themselves to get to you. Though it is expensive to live there, there's plenty of great stuff to do that doesn't cost a penny, so you never get bored.

3. Chicago - Oh, Chicago, how I love thee! A place with actual winters, lots to do and see, and so much good food. I miss the Art Institute lions, who I used to say hello to every single day. The only down side of Chicago is that it is very flat. Not a mountain in sight. Good thing Lake Michigan is there!

4. Pittsburgh - a lot of people give Pittsburgh a bad rap, but it is a great place. Hard to get around if you are not paying attention (especially if you end up on the wrong bridge!), but once you figure it out, it's not really any more difficult than anyplace else. If you go, be sure to ride the Incline. It will be an experience you won't forget, I guarantee ...

5. New York - sorry, those of you who are Big Apple haters, but I really do *heart* New York. It's the first city I remember from childhood, as for a while when I was little we lived in Teaneck, New Jersey, and my dad worked in NYC. We spent a lot of time in the city, and I count it as the beginning of my love affair with the Rockettes.

6. Boston - I will always love Boston. We used to visit my mother's rich [well, at least to us] cousin who lived there almost every summer, and it was so much fun. All of the historical stuff, and so close to so many other great places to go and see.

7. San Francisco - the only place in California I would consider living. They have actual seasons, and it's so much fun to walk around there. I have never visited without having an absolutely wonderful time.

8. Dublin - first of all, it's in Ireland, which is one of my favorite places on the earth. There are also such great things to see there, and the bridges over the River Liffey are so pretty at twilight. Also, one of the few places where, when someone would ask my name, they wouldn't immediately say, "I'm sorry - what was that?"

9. Montreal - Zut alors! I love Montreal, it is so pretty and probably as close to visiting France as I'm likely to get anytime soon. I have only ever visited in spring, but the flowers would make it an amazing place all on their own.

10. Toronto - it's in Canada, there are so many great neighborhoods to walk around in, and it has the same energetic vibe to me as NYC, but is not nearly as exhausting. (Plus - Tim Horton's!!!!)