I do have to laugh...

I've realized that I fit into this family almost perfectly. Well, maybe not perfectly, but geez. If I'd custom-ordered a "family-in-law," this is who'd they'd be. My dragon-in-law is really a cool guy, and I enjoyed going to Mount Vernon with him.

Granted, when I looked over and saw him climbing into a bush, I was a bit startled, but he simply backed up a bit, and pronounced "spider mites." He works with plants while pursuing his master's degree, and so, it was interesting to wander the gardens with him. They have a hedge-garden that's symmentrical on the horizontal and vertical axis, and they're pretty. The hedges are a bit lower than you'd normally think of, and so it's much easier to see the design. There are a couple of scroll-ish designs and two fluer-de-lys.

Anyway, I should sign out and get some shut-eye. We drove by the old D.C. prison complex today, and I would love to just be able to wander around and get some shots there, but somehow I don't think they'd be thrilled with that. The concertina wire is gone, but you can still see the double fences. Evidently, most of the prison was built by the prisoners, back when there was still some sort of shame attached to actually going to prison.

You know, what ever happened to that? What ever happened to the idea of someone being ashamed of their actions? What ever happened to prison being someplace you wouldn't want to go, some place hard and cold and lonely and shameful? I realize that I probably have some media-fueled notions of what prison is, but I'm really convinced that prison should suck. You should have zero priviledges. No cable, no tv. Maybe a lending library, but no access to computers, and they should have to work, and work hard.

Maybe they should have to grow their own food, and break their own big rocks into little rocks, for no other reason than to have to do it. To make sure that they don't just sit around. Oh yeah, and bring back the old style black and white prison uniforms. I don't care if it makes inmates stand out. They're not good upstanding members of society, and that needs to be made clear. They should stand out. They should stand out as something you never want to become.

Okay, how the heck did I get there?

Right, pictures of the old prison. Don't think it'll happen, but it would be cool.

I'm off to write a bit of something racy to my husband, and then, to sleep.