Prison to Prawns

For those of my readers who were versed in the 1970 Christian best-seller Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers, you will immediately have tweaked to the title of this Footprint. Today was a big day, covering Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf / Pier 39 and the Castro.

I visited Alcatraz 30 years ago. Not much has changed. It is still a modern ruin, only more ruin with
three decades more of wind and weather to wear the old girl down. You probably know already that
Alcatraz has served in many guises: as a fort, as a federal penitentiary for the worst of the worst, and
briefly, as a shining beacon for Native Americans.

The ferry ride over the bay, only about twelve
minutes, went like clockwork, as you would expect from a company that told us in the peak season,
right now, they get 5000 visitors to the island every day. The boarding, the disembarking, the lining
up, the return journey ad libitum when you feel you’ve had enough of The Rock. Everything slick.

Chris and I spent most of the time doing an audio guided tour through the penitentiary. Again, this
thing went like clockwork. “Walk to the left. Stop at Cell 248. Look up at the window. Proceed along
to the left to the big green doors. Go through them and walk to the right side of the room”. I have to
say that conceptually, being herded around like sheep, felt uncomfortable at first, but I must confess
that I really enjoyed this tour. The directions, yes they were very specific, enabled hundreds of
people to be milling and moving through the prison at the one time, all listening at different points
of their audio. So, though you might think this sounds like chaos, actually, it wasn’t. The audio was
quite wonderful. Aside from the explanations given, there were sound effects that were very
realistic and at times, quite chilling.

For me, I think the worst thing about Alcatraz the prison was the fact of its very nearness to San
Francisco. On New Years Eve, the prisoners could hear the sounds of music and laughter, of life being lived joyously, all come floating across the water. This incredible beautiful city is so close you could reach out and touch it, but most prisoners saw it only rarely. And apparently, many would not look at it regardless. The idea of life, of freedom, of happiness, of movement, all happening just over there without being able to engage it was just too much. Alcatraz was a prison from 1934 to 1963. There are some pics of the city from the Rock and one or two of the inside of the prison.

The other wonderful part I wanted to mention was the Native American occupation of the abandoned island in 1969. Many First Nations People went there to protest too many Government broken promises, land loss and exploitative dealings. They occupied the island for nineteen months and their occupation became something of an awakening in First Nations rights in America. While the San Franciscan local authorities wanted to remove them, believe it or not, Richard Nixon ensured they could stay. I understand he was close to his Native American football coach as a young man and this helped to stay the authorities’ hands. Eventually they were removed, but their message emblazoned across Alcatraz’ famous water tank is still there today.

Chris and I went into a small room in the old fort where they had a humble display telling of the occupation and what it meant to Native American peoples across the country. Loved it.

What can I say about Fisherman’s Wharf? It’s tired. There are still lots of eateries there. You’re
supposed to chow down on the clam chowder. We didn’t but saw plenty of others doing so. It
looked good, but we were not hungry at that stage. It’s all fish at the Wharf, so prawns is where my
title comes in. Madame Tussauds, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, which I did go to 30 years ago and still
have a very fetching picture of myself standing next to a life-size statue of the world’s tallest man,
Robert Wadlow. It’s all still there. Pier 39 was more vibrant, cleaner, more alive and more colourful I must say. I bought a nice little rainbow San Francisco key ring in a souvernir shop. Very happy with
that.

Which leads me to the Castro. This gay Mecca is famous the world over as San Fran’s LGBTIQ district
and made even more famous by the untimely death/murder of Local Councilman Harvey Milk, whose story was told in the recent film 'Milk' where Harvey is played by Sean Penn. The Castro is alive with lots of
gays and lots of diversty, plenty of places to eat and drink and just to hang out. I liked its vibe very
much. It is actually very rare for gay people to be in a place where you’re not hopelessly outnumbered by straight people. It's a nice feeling. I would definitely go back next time I’m here if there is ever a next
time. We did a little shopping there this afternoon and then had a great chat over a beer with a gorgeous barman at a little bar called Blackbirds. So I like the Castro. Till next time.Read more