Down the River

I drove to Salem again today in the rain again, so far as i can tell it is always raining on I-5 between Portland and Salem. The Oregon State Penitentiary was there and very different from most of the prisons I've been to. Its right in the middle of town, surrounded by little houses and landscaping, and ancient, if you consider 1920 to be ancient. My client visit was a good one and the staff was extremely nice. The visiting rooms were furnished with inlaid tables and upholstered chairs fabricated at the prison. Gary Gilmore and Robert Thaxton used to be locked up there. Prisons are rotten places, of course, but I've been to worse.