Prison Visitation Part Two---Picture ID Horrors
These are two real-life stories involving the elderly: two octogenarians hoping to visit their sons in prison.
Mr. A was hoping to visit his son, a wrongly-convicted professional person behind bars. He was experiencing early symptoms of dementia, but his eldest son and namesake took him to the prison.
Alfred, Jr, took charge of everything and presented the two drivers licenses to the guard at the control center---the licence for Alfred, Sr., and the license for Alfred, Jr.
That's when the guard raised her voice, claiming the two picture IDS were phonies because they carried the same name, Alfred and Alfred. And besides that, to no one's surprise, the pictures looked very much the same. She refused to allow the elderly gentleman, who had been there many times before, to continue with the visit, and she refused to get advice from a superior. The situation was saved, however, when a veteran guard came along, recognized young Alfred, and sorted through the details. But that did nothing to soothe the disturbed mind of the senior citizen.
Mr. B was hoping to visit his son. An African American clergyman, he had visited the prison many times, and was well known to the desk staff. He had to rely on a friend to drive him for the two-hour trip to prison. But alas, when they arrived, he discovered he did not have his picture ID with him. He had all kinds of legitimate identification, and the people at the desk knew him, but rules are rules. One can never take chances with a well-known elderly black pastor. The visit was denied.
Grrrrr.
Mr. A was hoping to visit his son, a wrongly-convicted professional person behind bars. He was experiencing early symptoms of dementia, but his eldest son and namesake took him to the prison.
Alfred, Jr, took charge of everything and presented the two drivers licenses to the guard at the control center---the licence for Alfred, Sr., and the license for Alfred, Jr.
That's when the guard raised her voice, claiming the two picture IDS were phonies because they carried the same name, Alfred and Alfred. And besides that, to no one's surprise, the pictures looked very much the same. She refused to allow the elderly gentleman, who had been there many times before, to continue with the visit, and she refused to get advice from a superior. The situation was saved, however, when a veteran guard came along, recognized young Alfred, and sorted through the details. But that did nothing to soothe the disturbed mind of the senior citizen.
Mr. B was hoping to visit his son. An African American clergyman, he had visited the prison many times, and was well known to the desk staff. He had to rely on a friend to drive him for the two-hour trip to prison. But alas, when they arrived, he discovered he did not have his picture ID with him. He had all kinds of legitimate identification, and the people at the desk knew him, but rules are rules. One can never take chances with a well-known elderly black pastor. The visit was denied.
Grrrrr.
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