My Childhood on Inmate Island// Response to Personal Profile- [Blog #5]

My Childhood On Inmate Island.

I decided to read My childhood On Inmate Island by Colleen Frankes on http://narrative.ly/ . The title dragged me along and also the fact that comics were included made me immediately know it was going to be a fun time. Colleen and family members live on an Island where there was families living daily lives and also . . a prison. Unlike Rikers Island in NewYork City - There was no bridge. You either had to take a ferry or plane from and back to the island. Most of the people who lived on the island if not all , actually worked at the prison. Her father started off as a correctional officer and then worked his way on to becoming higher in management and her mother worked as a detective and her job was to uncover narcotics in the facility. The island only housed homes and a prision and absolutely nothing else. No restaurants, no supermarkets, no malls - just families and inmates . . . oddly.

This piece is so magical because Frankes takes such an optimistic as well as funny approach to her living situation. Instead of making it seem dragged and sad, she brought light to the situation. The island was closing in 2011 and due to high mantience cost and too pricy to keep flying things in and out; they people decided it would be cheaper to close down for business. Frankes and her family went back and its like Frankes understood  as she got older - the real weird condition they were living in. As a child she had to lock up her bike to a gate just so an a escapee couldn't use it as transportation to get away. Although seeming like a joke, I am pretty sure this was the reality of their situation. My favorite part of the story is when she says

 "The island was supposed to have been empty for a month but every door we tried was unlocked. The heat was still on in the houses; the lights worked. There were books and toys left in the homes, boats and junked cars in driveways. Anything people couldn't be bothered to move was left behind. "

This island that was supposed to be deserted and left - is still living without people being there. The homes still blasting with air, the lights still working - the doors unlocked. Many houses left as if people really never left. I believe even though living on the island was rather weird - it was home for many. It was their oasis and despite the situation, many people raised their families here and so - it was if the homes were still trying to keep hope alive by still function - it was if they were screaming "come back, we work now! come back its safe to ! we have toys, books and everything. Please come back , we miss you",

This piece is amazing. It really captures, closing a part of you life and never coming back. Most people leave their childhood homes and can come back if they like - Frankes cant. This is it, goodbye forever and She has captured this in a lovely way. She has captured what it means to move on from something beautifully. This piece was spectacular.