Alcatraz -- May 6, 2025

T***p has decreed that the Bureau of Prisons should reactivate Alcatraz as a prison. Did he watch a History Channel program about Alcatraz? If he did, he fell asleep before the part where they said the prison was too expensive to maintain and the concrete was crumbling, and the iron was rusting away. 

Does he expect that guards and their families will live on the island again? I don't think I would like to have my family living on the other side of a fence next to a maximum-security prison. Some of my mother's classmates commuted from the island and everyone was worried when the Battle of Alcatraz broke out. 

And then he decreed a 100% tariff on films produced outside of the US, despite the fact that we export three times movies than we import.

Alcatraz Closing -- 50 Years -- March 21, 2013

50 years ago today, 21-March-1963, the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island closed.  The last 27 inmates boarded the launch for a ride to the pier near Fort Mason.  My mother went to school with children of the guards. 

I took the photo on 15-October-2011. 

Pearl Harbor Day #3 -- December 7, 2012

71 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Among the ships sunk was the battleship Oklahoma, shown here in a 1930s postcard view passing Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.  USS Oklamoma (BB-37) was commissioned in 1916.  U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Photo #: NH 84546-KN

Once Upon a Time 1960-1979 -- October 28, 2011

The San Francisco Arts Commission (http://www.sfartscommission.org/) has set up a series of posters by artist Elisheva Biernoff representing important moments in San Francisco history. I took this photo on 19-May-2011, showing a poster that depicts the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, with the anti war movement and the Alcatraz occupation.

Alcatraz -- October 15, 2011

Today we played tourist. We parked at Fifth and Mission and caught a Milan car on the F line. It got to be very full. We got off at Pier 39. It was a warm day, but there was a cold breeze on the pier. We had fried calamari at a seafood place. There was one float covered with sea lions. A few were on the next float. One sea lion slept soundly on the farthest float. A little boy worried that he might be dead.  We assured him that the sea lion was alive.

We walked along the Wharf to Pier 45, where we visted the Musee Mechanique.  The machines had been rearranged since our last visit.  There were two baseball-related games that I had not seen before.  We played the French Execution.  My daughter operated the machine with the baker.  We could not find Peppy the dancing clown.

We went up Fish Alley.  A boat had a radio on and the news said that the Occupy SF people were going to be marching up Market at 3pm.  We headed to the F line terminal and caught the Louisville car.

We got off at Fourth and walked up to Macy's.  There were police barriers set up along the curb on Stockton.  Workers were setting up Holiday Lane.  

We went to Five o'clock mass at Good Shepherd, then had dinner at Subway in Linda Mar.  On the way home, we drove on Cape Breton but didn't see many holiday decorations.

I took the photo of Alcatraz today.