Author: jeannielang

London: Saturday

Started my day at the Portobello market, akin to Notting Hill, recommended by Jules, Tim and Nat. The market had everything a person could want: mink coats, Persian lights, antiques, vinyl records, old maps. Large bowls of paella boiling and French bakeries and even found a Portuguese bakery and indulged in ‘natas’. Notting Hill was made famous by Hollywood movie: Notting Hill. Hugh Grants bookstore is now a gift shop and never found his blue door. In fact, found the hood touristy but was enamored by the green sprawling, quiet gardens, accessible to only the residents of the well maintained Notting Hill flats. Spring has arrived in London. The birds are chirping, pink magnolias blossoming and white blossoms line the grounds.

Took the Underground and walked to the Royal Albert Hall for an impromptu 3pm light show Classical Extravaganza by the London Philharmonic orchestra. The newly commemorated Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Steps are evident as approaching the hall. A state of the art stunning round building with 5 levels. Finding my seats, helped along the way, I take in the music posters along the hallways:Diana Ross greeting Princess Anne, Sting, Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, even James Taylor! I’m sitting next to a lean man, my age, from the countryside, who travels to London for the occasional show, takes the train, sits in the nosebleed section, alongside me. Says he “sweeps floors.” The conductor started with 2001 A Space Odyssey with a corresponding light show. On to Sousa’s March, that has played at every American inauguration, and Handel’s Hallelujah sung beautifully by the choir. Reluctantly, left at intermission to see more sights of London.

Payed my respects to the Princess Diana memorial in Hyde Park, contrary to trip advisors critique, it was a fitting design to reflect Diana’s life, water flows calmly and then swirls, meeting in a calm pool at the bottom. The Peter Pan statue was a bust-under construction.

Metro or bus to London’s Eye, a Birdseye view of London. A bit of a disappointment-didn’t know what views I was looking at. On my way to eat fish n chips, stumbled on a tunnel of murals, the highlight of my day.

On the recommendation of my host, late night dinner, fish n chips, mushy peas, white bread and chips aka fries at Golden Hinde! That’s a ship built in London that SFD discovered SF. Celebrating and thinking of my friend, Mary Khans birthday today.

I ended the day, watching protesters against Brexit, return from the large scale rally.

The Doors

Many know Jim Morrison from The Doors, died in 1971 and was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Lesser known the famous Père Lachaise cemetery is reserved for the French: Modigliani, Hahnemann, Haussmann, Chopin, Edith Pilaf, Pissarro, George Seurat, Proust….Notable exceptions: Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein and American, Jim Morrison. Late starting class at COM, I stumbled upon an evening course called The Doors, the last class touching on Jim Morrison’s death and burial in Paris France. After that epic class by music critic and author, Richie Unterberger. The highlight of my day was hanging with other lovers and fans of Jim Morrison vs tourists surrounding Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Strolled through the cemetery, following dusty, worn trails down the hill, listening to Soul Kitchen and The End.

I seamlessly find my way using the timely, punctual French metro, first stop Saint Chapelle, built 1200 is insignificant from outside but the interior is quintessential Gothic architecture. Climbing a narrow, winding, stone facade staircase to enter the upper interior of the St Chapelle- you know you’ve arrived. Gothic and light doesn’t usually go together but here it does. The 15 separate stained glass panels show the history of the world: creation/genesis, coming of Christ, and the end of the world. After arriving, I always take the time to sit and rest.

Notre Dame-was beautiful by night during an Organ recital. The next day, I returned and managed a glimpse of the Crown of thorns and view the Holocaust Remembrance aka Le Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation, focusing on the French Jews that were annhilated. This was a moving, thoughtful reflection of the atrocities from the French perspective. The French remind you that the Notre Dame still function as a church, confession, mass. I was quietly told to stop talking on the phone when I was only listening to the Rick Steve’s podcast.

The French love to tell the story of their saint Jeanne D Arc famous French feminist, who knew how to read, unheard of then and knew how to ride a horse and how to shoot. She volunteered to fight the English but the Army refused. Defiant, she took control of the retreating army, she defeated the English army by tactic and intelligence. Hailed as a hero. However, there were still royalist sympathizers, she is captured and brought back to Paris. She admitted “Angels talked to me” Now she was accused of being a witch, tried and sentenced to death, executed at the age of 19, burned at the stake, in front of Norte Dame, Around the 1500, French historians reviewed and reversed history, first French heroine, first feminist, newly Saint Jeanne d Arc.

Finally took a bus and approached the famous pyramid that houses the entry to the Louvre museum. Even though it’s spring break and Paris isn’t that crowded, don’t be fooled- audio guides sold out at the Louvre and sold out tickets for the Eiffel Tower. It is an international European city! The history of the world is pictured in the Louvre including Michelangelo Mona Lisa. Because Venus del Milo, the Goddess of Love, wears a size 14, I like her for that alone. Still she had a beautiful body known, discovered in Greece in 1930s.

San Quentin Tour

In the spring 2015, we at COM took a tour of San Quentin, the most famous prison due to its location with views of Mt Tam and the SF bay but also famous for housing the most infamous criminals, such as Richard Ramirez, Scott Peterson, Richard Allen Davis and the Trailside killer. Our college is interested in pursuing a partnership. My first impression is the medieval buildings, the barbwire, the guard towers, the flag at half mast in honor of the fallen officers, and the constant stream of well armed guards walking across the courtyard, during shift change. After our introduction by the wonderful Lieutenant Sam Robinson, San Quentin’s Public Information Officer, we met with 8 “lifers’ who spoke about being incarcerated. A small Caucasian man was incarcerated under the 3 strikes law, all strikes as a result of burglary; he got $40 out of the cash register. What you don’t hear is the long rap sheet these guys had prior to the 3 strikes. Another African American man came up for parole, but had never been in a room facing so many white folks, couldn’t verbalize himself and was denied parole. One inmate has never held a cell phone. Interestingly, all those who were approved or earned parole on life sentences, the recidivism rate is less than 1%. All of them said they were eager to learn. As we continued our tour and the inmates left, one inmate sauntered back to his cell playing a mean bluesy harmonica.

Next, we toured through the million dollar medical facility. The triage, ED was well equipped and spacious but not much activity. Everything seemed orderly and to be going on behind closed, locked doors. The psychiatric facility was daunting, group therapy for the hardened criminals was conducted with inmates in locked cages. Every inmate has access to health care they just have to wait longer to be seen by a RN and MD. There is 1:1 volunteers to the 4000 inmates, proving San Quentin the preferred prison, than say, Folsom. The recreation yard is massive with views looking west on Mount Tam, 101 and barbwire.  There’s a tennis court, basketball courts and a number of punching bags, and built in chairs and tables. Each area of the yard is ethnically designated, at times 2000 inmates with only three guards on the ground. Striking, is the daunting plastered smooth brick wall, 30 feet high. Still the last escape was in 1990 an inmate had only 3 more months before being released and scaled the wall to freedom, while the guard in the watchtower was waxing his floors. The escapee was never heard from again, both the guard and warden were promptly fired.

The tour seemed a little dilute visiting their million dollar medical facility and the outside yard with its beautiful views until we toured inside the 5 story cell block where we were surrounded by inmates in their usual day-to-day activities. There was a row of old fashion phone booths but without doors where many were sitting and talking. I was reminded “there is no privacy in prison.” A couple men were ironing their shirts, others were reading the San Quentin News, while others were simply lounging, walking slowly if walking at all. There were 5 floors, with 13 stairs between floors, the top floor was the death row inmates, including Scott Peterson’s cell. Notably, every window had 13 bars.

Inside the cramped 4×9 cell includes a bunk bed, a camping mattress, sink, toilet and shelves, organized with books and toiletries. From 845 to 745 they are locked inside, but there is a light they can control. The inmates get two hot meals and a box lunch they can eat anywhere. And they have that 7-Eleven type of store they can buy things to eat and heat up on a hot plate, no microwave. I didn’t see anybody overweight. In the 70s, the minimum wage to work there is $.13 an hour but now it’s $.75 to a dollar an hour. They can earn $120 a month working full-time. A portion of that money goes to the San Quentin prison for room and board and a portion goes to the state of California, whatever’s left the inmate earns. Scott Peterson is housed on the top floor designated death row, alone in a 4 x 9 prison cell. Lieutenant Sam Robinson confirms that he continues to be a model prisoner and is the representative of the death row inmates. When the Lieutenant candidly said, he printed a picture of his new baby boy in the San Quentin News, every inmate congratulated him and was quite animated except for Scott Peterson’s reaction who didn’t respond and was rather morose.

Lastly, while Administration had their meeting, we visited the Execution chamber with just a small group. The entrance was a hole in the wall, in the back of the prison, behind a steel door resembling a medieval dungeon. Back in 1985 when DNA was used to convict, San Quentin tested all their inmates on death row expecting some to be exonerated and instead everybody was found guilty. Not only guilty but found responsible for additional murders across the nation.  The oldest death row prisoner is 85 years old, the trailside killer who killed a number of people in Cowell park Santa Cruz and Mount Tamalpais in the 70s-80s. Legally, death row inmates are allowed a choice of lethal injection or gas chamber. No inmate has ever been able to choose so the legal default position, is lethal injection.  We visited the gas chamber where they use cyanide-the chamber’s door looked like a submarine hatch. There were three phones because one execution was stayed because they dialed Pizza Hut by mistake and the guy was dead before the stay of execution came through so now they have three numbers or three phones available.  Otherwise, the condemned is strapped and literally locked in. Indeed, the curtains open and there still remains a circle of chairs facing the inmate, for the families to witness the execution seeking a degree of closure, or not. Currently, there is a moratorium on executions in the state.

At 4pm, as we were leaving San Quentin, we heard ringing of the prison bell 13 times, that symbolized all inmates were accounted for. 13 bars, 13 stairs, 13 ringing bells constantly remind the inmates of their bad luck and the 12 members of the jury and judge, that condemned them.