yeoldbanjoguy - Posted - 02/19/2019:  18:50:42

The son of Daedalus, while trying to escape from jail in Crete, they constructed wings made from wax and feathers to aid them. Not heeding his fathers advice, Icarus flew too close to the sun and melted his great wings. Kids, go figure.

Bruce

chuckv97 - Posted - 02/19/2019:  19:06:50

like a moth to a flame...., like an alkie to a bottle

Chris Meakin - Posted - 02/19/2019:  19:17:41

Wyozark - Posted - 02/19/2019:  19:31:37

Ok. If you tell me you doubt my story I won't mind. However I present this to you as a true tale: Many years ago I was young assistant warden at a small minimum security prison. We had recently built a much taller fence due to some escapes. It was a fairly laid-back prison; inmates, as long as they reported for work when scheduled, pretty much were allowed to walk around in most places of the prison.

Inmates often amused themselves making things, often of contraband items of course. I recall a young inmate decided to make a kite. It wasn't a very large kite and I think he successfully flew the thing - we had a lot of open yard space and were located way out in the countryside. It wasn't much later that he made one noticeably larger and flew that. About a week later we caught him walking down the main yard road/path with a kite as large as himself. He was heading for a tower/building next to the fence. We surmised (but didn't prove) that he was planning to climb the tower and jump and use the kite to give him the needed lift to get over the fence that was very close. People wonder, "Is working in a prison anything like The Shawshank Redemption or the Green Mile?" No, it's like a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon...

Chris Meakin - Posted - 02/19/2019:  19:48:11

quote:

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Originally posted by Wyozark

Ok. If you tell me you doubt my story I won't mind. However I present this to you as a true tale: Many years ago I was young assistant warden at a small minimum security prison. We had recently built a much taller fence due to some escapes. It was a fairly laid-back prison; inmates, as long as they reported for work when scheduled, pretty much were allowed to walk around in most places of the prison.



Inmates often amused themselves making things, often of contraband items of course. I recall a young inmate decided to make a kite. It wasn't a very large kite and I think he successfully flew the thing - we had a lot of open yard space and were located way out in the countryside. It wasn't much later that he made one noticeably larger and flew that. About a week later we caught him walking down the main yard road/path with a kite as large as himself. He was heading for a tower/building next to the fence. We surmised (but didn't prove) that he was planning to climb the tower and jump and use the kite to give him the needed lift to get over the fence that was very close. People wonder, "Is working in a prison anything like The Shawshank Redemption or the Green Mile?" No, it's like a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon...

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I certainly believe you. Sounds like an enterprising young man.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-lifting_kite

5B-Ranch - Posted - 02/19/2019:  20:14:22

Genius??

Texasbanjo - Posted - 02/20/2019:  04:43:45

My son worked as a prison guard for a while many years ago and he has tales to tell that would curl your hair. I don't know how many shanks he took away from prisoners, how many drugs were found, cell phones hidden.... prisoners have nothing else to do all day except think up ways to get out of prison, get dope or whatever. I was glad when he left that job.

steve davis - Posted - 02/20/2019:  10:57:42

When our state prison was in Thomaston they had a baseball team.
Once a year they would get to go to Monhegan Island which has a nice baseball field up beside the lighthouse.
Their last game there was around 1973ish when, after the annual game,one of the prisoners snuck off into the woods and wouldn't come out...didn't want to go back.
They finally drove him out of the woods and left and never came out for baseball,again.

The Monhegan team had uniforms made with nicely sewn letters saying "The Monhegan Blues" which is a locally popular song that I and many here have sung for many years.Goes the same as Deep Elem.

yeoldbanjoguy - Posted - 02/20/2019:  13:39:54

Uniforms are nice

Bruce

Tommy5 - Posted - 02/20/2019:  15:57:16

The story of Icarus isn’t a true story. It is a fable, a parable. People in ancient times often made up stories which were later written down , these tales were never intended to be literally interpreted, the theme or lesson was the point ,not the facts of the story . While this seems obvious in the Icarus tale , is isn’t so obvious in other ancient text

Edited by - Tommy5 on 02/20/2019 15:57:53