Just Visiting

Linda Burton posting from Boise, Idaho – In Monopoly, you scowl when your token lands on that unlucky space marked “Go To Jail;” you do not collect $200; you move directly into Jail. Your turn is up. Land on the “Jail” space in the ordinary course of play and you are Just Visiting; life is good. The Old Idaho Penitentiary off Warm Springs Road has lots of folks “just visiting” these days; the former territorial prison closed for good in 1973 after more than a hundred years of housing the “bad guys” and a few “bad women” too. Now a part of Idaho history, the Idaho Historical Society has it open to the public; it is a designated National Historic Site. A family bought their tickets just ahead of me; the parents and two girls, a teen and what looked to be a ten-year-old, a pretty little blond. The first exhibit room had costumes and a camera stand; put on the stripes and pose before a blackout screen; or stand behind the bars. The little girl did both; dramatic scenes; she pulled a look of anguish out; I heard the camera click. The teen played cell phone games, not much impressed. Just visiting. I headed for the gate into the Yard. “Don’t miss Siberia,” the lady selling tickets said. “It’s the worst.” » read more