Seattle and Environs

I'll bet this place is gorgeous when it's not overcast all the bloody time. SeaTac is a nice airport, well-organized, nicely decorated, and equipped with all sorts of shops to drain money from imprisoned travelers. I'm sure I'll be spending some tomorrow, as I'm out of books to read, and it's a long flight back.

McNeil Island Correctional Center is apparently a place that specializes in incarcerating sex offenders. As we're preparing to board the ferry, the vending rep nudges me and says "I've been told they like blonds." I reply that we should stay back-to-back the entire time. A bear-like security guard grins through his grey beard and says "You'll be fine. We got rid of the cannibal."

The ferry takes us across Puget Sound to McNeil Island; on the way there, there's a nice view of the Narrows Bridge, and of the Sound in general, which is very pretty. On the ferry ride back, the clouds had cleared enough that I could actually see Mt. Ranier, which is huge. Spectacular. That mental image you have of a big mountain? That's it. And me without my camera; not that I could have taken it to the island anyway. The irony is that the beautiful views from McNeil Island are wasted on prisoners who can't wait to leave.

Some private citizens live there as well, though they're all employed by the state. In exchange for the inconvenience of being trapped on an island (which is only accessed by a ferry on a set schedule) with a bunch of sex criminals, apparently their entire existence is subsidized by the state, with cheap rent, etc.

Recommended Listening: Frank Black, "End of Miles"
Recommended Reading: none right now; out of books

In Transit, Houston-Seattle, 11/28/05

They're showing "The Island" on this flight; an act of truly monstrous bastardy, as the airline magazine clearly indicated that we'd be watching "Batman Begins". I had to suffer through this action-adventure piece of crap on my Delta flight out to Irvine, CA two weeks ago, and being forced to see it again is just mean. Leave it to Michael Bay to make explosions (among everything else) boring.

The flight from Nashville to Houston wasn't bad once we got past the weather; takeoff was pretty exciting. I didn't have to spend long at the airport in Houston, which suited me fine. It's not the worst airport I've traveled through, but it's not great. The train system does little to cut down on walking time, and the constant security announcements get on my nerves. Especially the end part: "Inappropriate comments or jokes about airline security may result in your arrest." Everyone has airline horror stories, so I'm not going to add my own rants to them, but damn if that's just not chilling to hear that over the loudspeakers in an ostensibly free country.

I forgot my fucking camera.

Beginnings

Does it work? Well? Does it?

Let's face it, most blogs die pretty quickly of neglect. Not that they're ever deleted, mind you; they remain as barnacle-like accretions on innumerable server hard drives because the creator would raise hell if it were removed ("I was just about to update that! After six months!").

Will this one be any different? We'll see. The statistics are not on my side.

So what's the point? The goal of the exercise here is to better stay in touch with people, a task I traditionally suck at. That difficulty I have with this is only increased when you consider the amount of time I spend traveling. But if I can update this from the road, let people know what I'm up to, post links to the pretty pictures I take, maybe I'll feel a little less guilty...

Nah.

(Posted in Memphis, TN)