I was in jail Saturday. Well, more specifically, I was at the jail on Saturday. Being my first time inside the walls of the old stoney lonesome was an eye-opening experience. First off, it was nothing like those scenes I remember from old Arrested Development episodes where Michael Bluth visited his eccentric father in the slammer.
The first shock was that visits are limited to twenty minutes and it all takes place via video conference. There is no face to face contact through a thick glass window. There is zero contact with the outside world. Maybe those restrictions loosen up some in honest-to-God prison but in jail you are in the cement block building and you'll enjoy it. Or not.
The security is about as restrictive as I expected it to be. You check in using your driver's license and the clerks behind the thick glass window in the office hold your license until you are finished with your visit. The amount of electronic gadgetry is impressive. Of course it's not all that surprising being our tax dollars funded this newish chambe of justice, the Scott Count Justice Center (jail). Funds can be deposited to the spending accounts of jailbirds via an ATM-like device and the chairs in the lobby area were both new and uncomfortable. The tile floor was a cold gray color and already viciously scratched and like everything the government does, the proceedings moved slowly. Things moved so slowly that after arriving at 10:30 AM and filling out a visit request form and presenting our IDs we barely had enough time to fit in the maximum twenty minute visit before the lock the joint up again at 11:30 AM. Yes, that's the speed of government.
MinnPics is free of jail tales but with upcoming fake-cation days and the impending arrival of spring, color will blossom and cheer will take over as vibrant photos flow freely.
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