My daughter sent me these from college, since she wont be here for Mother’s day. I love tulips!

Darwin, the Banker!

My cousin, Freddy in Montreal sent me a photo of me and my sister, Shelley from around 1967. I’m the one on the left. We spent a a lot of vacation time visiting the dairy  farm in New Glasgow, Quebec, where my paternal grandmother grew up. The funny thing about this photo is that I am deathly allergic to cats and most other furry creatures, but I seem to be in heaven here holding that cat. (Notice how desperately he’s trying to break loose from my hold.) I recall chasing the cows from the field back into the barn with the farm collie, who was named Colie. I’d help my Uncle Willy milk and feed the cows, and I’d do cartwheels up and down the space between the troughs where the cows were fed. Their heads would move in unison back and forth, watching me as I tumbled. My eyes would be swollen shut from allergies, but I loved the farm and didn’t care. I even got to see calves being born on occasion. My aunt Jay would boil my sneakers on the stove to get them clean after running through the fields of cow pies. Later when I asked my grandmother about that, she assured me that there was a pot just for that task and no food was ever cooked in it.

I remember taking a bath in an old claw tub that was tucked into a tiny room under the stairway, with an angled ceiling that was so low on one side, you could not sit up in the rear of tub there. The water came from the well and smelled like sulphur. We slept in the many tiny bedrooms in the upstairs part of the big old squeaky house. One night, a bat flew over our heads. Uncle Willy caught it and held it by its wings to show us what it looked like. My sister and I were screaming our heads off, and ever since then, we’ve been afraid of bats.

Great childhood memories. Everyone should have a family farm to visit!

What was up with that hideous haircut my Mom made me get, a pixie? Good Lord, that was horrible.

Perhaps that’s why I stopped cutting my hair at age 14 and grew it past my waist.

Please read my interview with Jeffrey Gottfurcht, the first person with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) to attempt to climb Mount Everest. You are sure to be as inspired as I was when I heard his story! Jeff is the founder of the Jeffrey Gottfurcht Children’s Arthritis Foundation (JGCAF) and an amazing athlete.

If you find yourself in Philadelphia for any reason, set aside some time to visit East State Penitentiary. You’ll be so glad you did. I’ve been to Alcatraz twice and was impressed by the facility and fascinated by the history. But my visit to East State Penitentiary this week was even more of an extraordinary experience. This was the essentially the world’s first prison designed to influence inmates to truly repent for their sins. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit I never really thought about the word “penitentiary” meaning actual penitence before visiting this one. But it sure makes sense. The theory was that if prisoners spent their time regretting the crimes they had committed, they would be reformed and able to reenter society as productive adults.

The entrance to East State Penitentiary

I visited the prison this past Sunday, and the fact that I was actually freezing, despite wearing 2 long sleeve shirts, a sweater and a coat, hood and gloves, made the experience all that more creepy. Tours are conducted every half hour with a maximum of 24 guests. Be sure to make a reservation though, or you may have to wait a long time on a waiting list to get in. And don’t even think about coming in late for your reserved time, or your spot will be given to someone else who is waiting. The tours are very prompt.

One of several towers where guards once stood watch over the 11-acre property

My friend, Ginny and I were fortunate enough to have Amy as our tour guide. She led a most interesting tour and was thoroughly knowledgeable about the prison and was so animated and energetic.

Tour guide Amy explains the reason for the prison’s design

The prison was planned in 1787 and was opened in 1829. Designed by British architect John Haviland, the Gothic structure is essentially a stone fortress built with seven long cell blocks radiating out from an octagon-shaped center. At the time it was the largest structure in the US and was designed to intimidate and isolate those who were sentenced. Though today much of the prison is in disrepair, visitors can imagine how beautiful it actual was in its beginnings.

A historic drawing of the plans for East State is on display in the small museum

Walking down a cell block gives visitors insight into the former beauty of the structure. Walls were once painted a bright white and natural light beams down the corridor. I was fascinated to learn that East State had indoor plumbing (flushing toilets)  while the President in the White House at the time was still using a chamber pot. It also had an efficient water heating system and was considered, in many ways, to be the most innovative structure in America.

Individual flushing toilets in each cell

The inside of a crumbling cell

Each of the prison’s cells were small yet felt spacious due to the tall ceilings and skylight. The cell doors are all extremely low, so that the prisoners had to bend over to get in and out, making it harder for them to escape quickly. On the back wall of each cell is another door that leads out into a secluded courtyard.

Each cell block has towering domed ceilings and low, thick wooden cell doors hung from metal rollers

Prisoners spent their days repenting and learning different trades so they would be qualified to work when they were released. The workers who taught the trades never actually saw the faces of the prisoners they were teaching, The reasoning behind this was that the prison officials did not want the workers to be able to identify the inmates after they were back in mainstream society. This protected them from being discriminated against. Many of the early inmates served short sentences for stealing or unpaid debts.

I don’t want to give away any of the great stories you will hear on the tour, but I will say that Al Capone was the prison’s most famous inmates. He spent less than a year here and was a master at manipulating the system to obtain special privileges to decorate his cell with fine furnishings. He later was sent to a prison in Atlanta and then spent 4 1/2 years at Alcatraz before being transferred to another prison in Southern California. Women prisoners spent time at East State Penitentiary too, and many were impregnated and gave birth while incarcerated.

The last year the prison was used was in 1971.

If you Go

If you visit during the winter months, dress as if you were going downhill skiing. Now, I am from Miami, so I am not used to to cold. But every other visitor on our tour also complained about being too cold. You will experience the complete opposite problem during the summer months when it is boiling hot in there. Obviously there is no electricity, no heat and no cooling system in the structure.

There is an audio tour you can take at other times of the year. And during Halloween there is a massive Haunted House that I understand is phenomenally frightening. How fun would that be?!

East State Penitentiary

Open every day 10-5 except for major holidays.

22^nd & Fairmount Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: (215) 236-3300

Adults: $12
Seniors: $10
Students & Kids: $8

Members get in for free

Whenever I walk, I often look down in case there’s something interesting on the ground, such as an insect or a document with something fascinating written on it. Today my find was this wasps’ nest. It is rather fragile and crisp and oh so intriguing to study. I am impressed by the amount of work that went into building it. I did a bit of research and learned that wasps make their nests by breaking down wood fibers and plant stems and mixing them with their saliva. Chemicals release during the making of the nest that prevent ants from invading. Each cell is used for raising a baby wasp.