![]() ![]() In the summer of 1971, Jack Gantos was an aspiring writer looking for adventure, cash for college tuition, and a way out of a dead-end job. It was a relief to write stories that didn't have bars around them. From time to time I wrote down other funny stories and memories about my family and my childhood. The escapees were caught not far from our house and I was disappointed that I hadn't spotted them slinking around. I saw rugged prison mugs in every shadow. ![]() Every time a bush rustled in the wind my heart leapt. All night I scampered from window to window peeking out and looking for unshaven suspicious types in striped outfits. We locked our doors and turned on all the lights. A couple of guys had hopped a freight and the cops thought they may have jumped off in our area. One Halloween afternoon police cars flooded our neighborhood and announced that Halloween was canceled because there had been a prison break upstate at Raford. We were living in Kendall, Florida, right on the train tracks. But thinking of Halloween reminded me of a funny story from when I was in fifth grade. or, I should say, every day in prison was scarier than any Halloween, so there was no reason to do anything special on October 31st. All week the people had been putting up Halloween decorations. ![]() ![]() From my cell window I could see a line of houses in the distance. ![]()
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