Tag Archives: Prisoner

Grandpa’s chain gang days

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Occupation: Marriage and Family Therapist
Residence: Forest Falls, CA
Language: English

Text: “When I was a kid, I used to love listening to my grandpa tell stories. One of my favorite ones was from when he was younger and lived as a hobo. It must have been in the 1920’s or 30’s, probably somewhere in the Midwest. He would travel around with his friends on trains, and sometimes they would get in trouble. One day, he and all of his friends got busted and put in a chain gang. And they were forced to work. My grandpa could have gotten out because his dad could have paid for it, but he didn’t want to leave his friends. So he worked with them in the chain gang until they could get out, I don’t know how long it was, but it must have been weeks or months.

“I always liked that story because I think it shows how adventurous our family is. They’ve always valued new experiences and adventures, and I always thought the stories that my grandpa had from travelling were really cool.”

Context: Chain gangs were introduced after the Civil War as a means of punishment and cheap labor, forcing groups of convicts to do construction, ditch digging, or farming. Prisoners chained together endured dangerous conditions and physical pain, and the practice was gradually phased out in the 1950’s.

Informant JB was raised in rural Montana in the 1970’s. Her parents were both part of the Seventh-day Adventist church, which is a Protestant Christian denomination that emphasizes health and the Sabbath. Her grandfather on her mother’s side was a doctor and extremely well-travelled, partly because of Adventist-run mission trips.

Analysis:

On a narrow scale, this family legend recounts an ancestor’s escapades and virtues to the younger generations as a source of wisdom and inspiration. JB is known by her family to be adventurous (within reason), preferring to go on largely unplanned vacations so that exciting and unplanned experiences can happen organically. It makes sense that she would be inspired by her grandfather and take pride in her family’s adventurous nature, which is juxtaposed with the conservative and somewhat Puritan culture of the Seventh-day Adventist church. JB’s grandfather also demonstrates impressive loyalty by sticking with his friends in the chain gang, which was a notoriously grueling practice.

More broadly, prison labor has been a controversial issue in the U.S. since the 1950’s due to concerns over abuse. In fact, it became a hot issue in California when voters rejected a measure to ban forced labor in the state’s recent election, although many criticize the practice as ‘modern-day slavery.’

“That Man’s Father Is My Father’s Son” Riddle

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Web Developer
Residence: Long Island, New York
Performance Date: 3/7/16
Primary Language: English

The informant in a 26-year old man, born and raised in Long Island, New York.

 

BF: My uncle used to tell us all riddles. He’d tell us the riddle, but he wouldn’t tell us the answer until we were thirteen. And the cruel thing was that he’d tell us when we were–me and my cousins–were all like ten years old, so we’d have to wait years. We should’ve just googled them, if we’d known.

What was one of those riddles?

BF: This one, it’s the only one I still remember. So, a guy is visiting another guy in jail. The guard asks Guy A if he knows Guy B, and A says “Brothers and sisters, I have none. But that man’s father is my father’s son”.

So who is the prisoner?

BF: My uncle never even told me the answer, I forgot until I was seventeen! So, “that man’s father is my father’s son”. “My father’s son” just means “myself”, so “that man’s father is myself”.. so he is the guy’s father–the prisoner is the son. The father refers to himself, which is why it’s tricky. 

 

The riddle is told in many different ways with other setups, but the main question usually remains the same.