Haven't seen this one, but thank you, Lorna, for bringing up a thought process! Fact is, here and abroad, there is a HUGE untapped resource in prison populations and little effort to not only tap manpower, but teach and encourage them to pursue better lives thru realistic means. Sad. The penal system is pathetic. Gardening wise, where I grew up there was a 'county jail', referred to as the 'County Farm'. Said jail and its inmates ran a gorgeous farm - some livestock and lots of agriculture. This county jail provided a huge percentage of the foodstuffs for the local hospital. Physically, they were next door to each other making for easy access - (and a blip or two - my grandfather tried to discharge my Mom at the Jail entrance, having missed the Hospital driveway when she was set to deliver twins!!). The County Farm was a respected and great contributer to the area. On another track, I have seen footage of inmates paired with canines (usually problem dogs, like their new handlers, but with attributes akin to becoming service dogs) and the spectacular results to both man and dog in the training process. Nothing but good there. Given the obscenely huge prison population is this country alone, why is it that a 30 minute chance to rub out their fellow inmates in frustration in the 'execise yard', trumps the mere thought of putting them to work? Why is said work, which would teach and redirect them, so esoteric? I just don't get it. Such a huge waste. So many possibilities.

Sorry to say this Mike, but I was one of the kids who would try to egg on the other kids into licking the pole. PS stay away from the furnace. One new movie that I've seen the last couple of years is called SILENT NIGHT. Starring Linda Hamilton, it's set at Christmas 1944 during the battle of the bulge. A group of American and German soldiers meet up at a house in the forest. Enemies at first, they slowly become comrades. It's a great movie. John

Bunglogirl - I too liked "Skeleton Key" but imagine this. It was the 2nd day of my kitchen remodel in late winter. I come home from work, the house is dark, and there's this woman in my gutted kitchen. Her boyfriend the electrician who I've never met is in my attic. He comes down and has all this long loose black hair hanging around his face and streaming down his back. He's running around in my attic for hours. The kitchen has no lights, there's wires hanging everywhere, and the house is cold as the vents have been removed from kitchen and living room. I go into my bedroom which is packed to the gills with clutter and mess. I watch The Skeleton Key. For those who don't know, there's lots of attic action in this movie. I come out of my room at midnight, the house is empty, the electrician has left without saying goodbye, the front door is unlocked, the house is cold and dark, I'm surrounded by chaos.....I'm freaking out!!! Not a good night to watch this movie alone.

I met my husband when we were 12 years old...March 25, 1959. He and his brothers and sisters moved to Texas to live with two uncles, because his parents died. One brother and two sisters lived with an uncle in a town about 7 miles away and he and his brother moved to my town. We had a very small school and two very handsome boys entering school was a big deal. All of the girls were crazy about them. They had blond hair, brown eyes, very tan, beautiful white teeth smiles. :sigh: I was such a tomboy...I wasn't very girly. I had braids that went to my waist and I rode my horse every day after school. He came to visit me, because I had a horse. ;) I didn't start dating him until I was 16, although I was crazy about him when we met and I used to write about him in my diary every day, but since he never talked to me, the only thing I had to write about was what he wore to school that day. When I was 14, I gave up...had other boyfriends. He asked me out when I was 16, and by then, I was over my infatuation with him, but I went anyway. We ended up dating for 3 years, married at 19 and almost 44 years later....still married. One child, born 15 years into our marriage.