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23148. wabbit - 12/11/2007 2:42:06 AM Arky, my fingers and toes are crossed, as best I can!
i3b3, I sure hope things improve for you soon. You've accomplished so much in this past year or so, I'm pulling for you to be able to reap some benefits for a while. Hang in there, and meanwhile, for whatever good we are, we're here. 23149. wabbit - 12/11/2007 2:58:04 AM Here's a tip for anyone who might find themselves in some county lockup and making their phone call. USE YOUR LAST NAME.
I've gotten two collect calls in the last hour from the Pasco County Detention Center, from someone named "Billy". Uh, Billy WHO? Sorry Billy, you're in Florida, I'm in Massachusetts, and you are shit out of luck and calling the wrong number.
At least, I sure hope you're calling the wrong number. If not, you're still shit out of luck if you aren't clever enough to not assume that anyone here has only ever known one "Billy".
btw, I checked the Detention Center website, since they are good enough to have arrest info available online in Florida. No Billy or William that I recognize. Next, I called the detention center. They have 1500 people in lock up and no way of looking for the "Billy" who may be calling here. I suggested they tell people to leave their full names rather than just a first name...just a thought.
Too late to help Billy, though. 23150. robertjayb - 12/11/2007 3:38:00 AM Beware wabbit, of Jailhouse jungles telephone scam... 23151. wabbit - 12/11/2007 4:45:17 AM Interesting, thanks for the heads-up, rjb. Our calls were from a recorded message, like you would expect to get from a phone company. When I called the detention center to make an inquiry, I was given an 800 number that allows me to block any further calls. Regardless, we hung up both times. 23152. arkymalarky - 12/11/2007 5:21:30 AM Thanks Wabbit!
We have a relative who had to spend some time in the county jail--I won't bore you with the details ;-)--and my parents went to get him when his time was up. This was in a much bigger city than where we live, and when they arrived they were handed a card with a large number on it and directed to an elevator. My mother is DEATHLY afraid of elevators. They got on the elevator, and were the only two on it. The doors closed. At that point they realized there were no buttons on the elevator. Nothing. No emergency phone, no red "stop this elevator now" button. Nothing. Mother was in full panic mode and Dad was very nervous but trying to be his usual "it's ridiculous to panic." About that time the elevator door opened and another individual got on with her card that also had a large number on it. She showed them how you hold it to the ceiling, where a camera gets the number and the elevator takes you to that floor.
Talk about No Exit. Dad's an agnostic and Mother's undecided, but I can imagine them wondering what kind of dimension they'd stepped into. 23153. wabbit - 12/11/2007 4:24:26 PM Seriously, how stupid are the people handing out the cards that they don't explain how the system works. We aren't all born with knowledge about the security features of jails. And how hard would it be to put a small poster in the elevator, or even outside the elevator door, showing folks what to do? 23154. Ms. No - 12/11/2007 6:47:56 PM Ah, but that might take some the of scary intimidation out of the whole process, Wabbit, and then where would the fun be? I mean, if one isn't terrified of criminal detention at any moment how could we continue to run the jails --- or the country for that matter??
It's probably the biggest kick some of those folks get all day --- frightening visitors and trying to make them feel stupid. The antagonism towards presumably innocent relatives of inmates is only marginally less than the antagonism directed at the inmates themselves. 23155. wabbit - 12/11/2007 6:56:11 PM You're probably right. Small people get their kicks however they can, without regard to anyone else.
I really need to move to a cave. I don't understand people anymore. 23156. wonkers2 - 12/11/2007 9:50:03 PM Law enforcement/prisons attract small people. 23157. arkymalarky - 12/12/2007 12:26:35 AM I think a lot of it had to do with security, but a heads-up to my parents would have been nice. What's funny (sad, really) is that they were apparently the only visitors there who were unfamiliar with the procedure. 23158. wabbit - 12/12/2007 1:36:37 AM Well then, it's their own damn fault for not being regulars, LOL!
I can understand not having controls in the elevators as a security measure. I just don't get not letting people in on the secret handshake. I guess I'm not, I don't know what, to get the joke. 23159. arkymalarky - 12/12/2007 2:13:16 AM Ha! Really. The reason it's a funny story to me (and our whole family) is because of my mother's thing about elevators. When I was going to Girl Scout camp as a kid I had to have a tetanus shot and the doctor's office was in a multi-story building. My mother refused to take the elevator, so on the way out she tumbled down about three flights of stairs. Having just had the shot it made me physically sick trying to help her up. We were quite a scene, I'm sure.
We all envisioned a human operating the camera and what my mother must have looked like to him/her/them, and my dad is always telling her how ludicrous she is to be afraid, and he was scared too and not wanting to admit it. It's like the time when we were little and went to Moffat Tunnel. There were "tame" donkeys on the way and we had some leftover breakfast rolls we were trying to feed them. Bro and I kept throwing the food on the ground and Dad said, "Don't be so silly! Donkeys know the difference between your hand and the food!" And as he moved to show us how it was done "properly"--you guessed it--the donkey chomped his hand, hard, and wouldn't let go. He had to be stoic in front of us, because you know you don't want to scare your children, or humiliate yourself in front of them. 23160. judithathome - 12/12/2007 3:34:14 PM Good lord...it is still dark as night outside...I was thinking I was up waaay early but turns out, a really bad storm is rumbling in and the sky looks like it's past sundown already. 23161. Ms. No - 12/12/2007 6:36:18 PM I know weather can be a pain to deal with, but I've been telling my mother for weeks now that she'd better order up a good thunderstorm while I'm out for Christmas. I miss them in the worst way. 23162. alistairconnor - 12/12/2007 6:39:33 PM All I want for Christmas is a couple of feet of snow. 23163. Ms. No - 12/12/2007 6:48:10 PM Ha! Love the donkey story, Arky!
I've developed a fear of heights as I've gotten older. This is strange to me because I never had much of one as a child even though I used to have horrid recurring falling dreams.
When I was youngest they involved slides that I couldn't get off of and the sensation was like that continual falling down the steep side of the roller coaster. Later they did become roller coaster nightmares only what they consisted of for the longest time was that leaned-back, steady, click-click-click you get as you climb to the top of the plunge.
I graduated from that to elevator dreams, but it never gave me a fear of actual elevators.
On one of my trips to D.C. I traveled a bit with an Australian guy who was a lift repairman. We were in the elevator at the Old Post Office and he was explaining to me all of the reasons why it wasn't possible for us to crash to the ground.
Funnily, he could be quite adamant about it. He'd get worked up about it as if someone had said something nasty or fearful about his beloved dog.
23164. thoughtful - 12/14/2007 5:18:57 PM This year's holiday card:
The sun awakens,
Parting clouds, lighting the sea,
A new day of life.
Hope all of you enjoy the holiday season and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. 23165. judithathome - 12/14/2007 7:57:38 PM Thoughtful, that is stunning...I wish I had something like it for you but my best wishes for the coming year will have to suffice. 23166. wabbit - 12/14/2007 9:38:55 PM Beautiful photo, t'ful, and a nice haiku as well! I'm looking forward to seeing your shots of yesterday's snowfall.
23167. Ms. No - 12/14/2007 11:42:35 PM Oh, gorgeous! Thanks, thoughtful!!
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