Alcatraz
It feels strange to be leaving the Redwoods because it is time to go home. One month is long enough to get use to the routine. I again, as we drive, feel as if I am not ready. This has been full 100% family time, and I love my family.
We fly out of Fresno so that I can return the Jeep. Because of the long drive, California is a huge state, we decide to stop in San Francisco to visit Alcatraz. As a kid, maybe this is true of a lot of young boys, I was fascinated with Alcatraz. This notorious prison is known to be harsh for the worst of criminals. It’s smaller than I expect. Life here would be hard and miserable. The cells are tiny. The solitary confinement is completely dark, but a bit bigger. The tour consists of an audio tour hearing from both former guards and inmates. A former inmate tells how he passed the time in solitary confinement by closing his eyes and imagining being somewhere else. Then he stated that when you do that long enough, it’s almost as if you truly are there. They also describe how when the wind is right you can hear voices of life from the mainland. This was especially true on New Years’s eve when you could hear voices of women and people celebrating. I would imagine this was truly difficult. To hear other people living when you are not fully able to live. Sometimes, I think we get a glimpse of this. Maybe, we discover the heartache or difficulty of someone else’s life and are moved with compassion because they are not truly able to live. Sometimes, when people get caught keeping up with the Jones’, or put their life focus in things that truly don’t bring God’s joy, it’s like they are not really living. On the flip side, sometimes we think the grass is greener. Someone else’s life is better. We are missing out. This will not surprise anyone, but for me real living is living Jesus.
Maybe the story on Alcatraz that got me the most was a man who was incarcerated for being a conscientious objector during World War 1. His punishment: Alcatraz. I have a sympathy for those non-violent pacifists. I can only imagine that Jesus would have been the same and refrained from participating in war. Would they have sent Jesus to Alcatraz?
Today, the island is mostly inhabited by 1000’s of sea gulls and their natural waste. They, of course, provide a pleasant smell.
To visit Alcatraz accomplished my inner kid’s desire.
On our final drive, I shared with Amber that I was sad and not fully ready (Eli, Josh, and Amber are ready to go home), and that I could continue to explore. She said, “They call that wanderlust. I responded, “At least that is not a bad kind of lust.” I have always loved to explore and see new things. I think that is why I am drawn to the concept of God’s kingdom. I just have a sense that it is fully different in an absolutely wonderful way. I want to explore it, see it and experience it. Maybe that is wanderlust too.
Avon, here we come.
We fly out of Fresno so that I can return the Jeep. Because of the long drive, California is a huge state, we decide to stop in San Francisco to visit Alcatraz. As a kid, maybe this is true of a lot of young boys, I was fascinated with Alcatraz. This notorious prison is known to be harsh for the worst of criminals. It’s smaller than I expect. Life here would be hard and miserable. The cells are tiny. The solitary confinement is completely dark, but a bit bigger. The tour consists of an audio tour hearing from both former guards and inmates. A former inmate tells how he passed the time in solitary confinement by closing his eyes and imagining being somewhere else. Then he stated that when you do that long enough, it’s almost as if you truly are there. They also describe how when the wind is right you can hear voices of life from the mainland. This was especially true on New Years’s eve when you could hear voices of women and people celebrating. I would imagine this was truly difficult. To hear other people living when you are not fully able to live. Sometimes, I think we get a glimpse of this. Maybe, we discover the heartache or difficulty of someone else’s life and are moved with compassion because they are not truly able to live. Sometimes, when people get caught keeping up with the Jones’, or put their life focus in things that truly don’t bring God’s joy, it’s like they are not really living. On the flip side, sometimes we think the grass is greener. Someone else’s life is better. We are missing out. This will not surprise anyone, but for me real living is living Jesus.
Maybe the story on Alcatraz that got me the most was a man who was incarcerated for being a conscientious objector during World War 1. His punishment: Alcatraz. I have a sympathy for those non-violent pacifists. I can only imagine that Jesus would have been the same and refrained from participating in war. Would they have sent Jesus to Alcatraz?
Today, the island is mostly inhabited by 1000’s of sea gulls and their natural waste. They, of course, provide a pleasant smell.
To visit Alcatraz accomplished my inner kid’s desire.
On our final drive, I shared with Amber that I was sad and not fully ready (Eli, Josh, and Amber are ready to go home), and that I could continue to explore. She said, “They call that wanderlust. I responded, “At least that is not a bad kind of lust.” I have always loved to explore and see new things. I think that is why I am drawn to the concept of God’s kingdom. I just have a sense that it is fully different in an absolutely wonderful way. I want to explore it, see it and experience it. Maybe that is wanderlust too.
Avon, here we come.
