Entry #24.4 / 16th July 2022
Despite being a short distance from the Independence Hall from the American Revolution Museum, getting there was still a rush. That was more of a human error, though, than a distance one.
Just like with the Liberty Bell, I had to have a bag check, which, surprisingly enough, I’m slowly adapting to. It’s the American way.
After waiting a few minutes outside with other people, the tour guide—who turned out to be security for the Independence Hall—came and collected us, opening the doors to the hall.
The first room we adventured into was the Supreme Court Room, where the tour guide/security man – Keith – asked us a series of questions, pointing to left and right to whatever our answers were.
Unsurprisingly, I always ended up with the opposite answer of the majority. Okay, so I either have no faith in the American system or any legal system, or I’m just very aware of how the world works.
‘The latter.’ The responsible voice voted.
Ten or so minutes of being in the courtroom we went to the Assembly Room, where the Declaration of Independence was written.
“Now, I’m going to pose a question for you all.” Keith started, slightly leaning on the barriers to the room displays. “When you first start a business of any sort, do you think over time, as sales and the business grows, do you think the business plan or model will stay the same as when it first began?”
The majority of people, including myself, shook their heads.
“No. When something grows, it gets bigger. And as time goes on, the world changes. How it functions changes. And the people who wrote the declaration knew this – which is why the declaration was never meant to be the final thing.” My eyebrows narrowed, focusing completely on Keith as he went on. “As Hamilton, Washington, and so many people realised – the declaration would never be perfect. As they understood, things change, people change, and the circumstances of this independence will change. So, the declaration will have to change with the times. So, the declaration, you know, was never meant to be perfect – it was meant to be the first draft to show this country’s people and the world that this was happening. Even if they had to keep rewriting it in years to come – America had won its independence, and it was going to keep it.”
I tuned out the question part of the tour as the words, the lesson, repeated themselves in my head.
It was never meant to be final. It was meant to change with time, circumstance, and people.
It was meant to grow, adapt, and learn.
It was meant to be the essence of what humanity is.
Evolution.
***
Not long after a miracle, I managed to get on the Phlash bus in one piece. My brain was in a fog of deep thinking that I wasn’t even acknowledging the streets I was walking through. This caused me to have a few mini-trips on pathways.
It was a roughly ten-minute journey to the Eastern State Penitentiary, but once I was off the bus, my stomach roared with attention again. Knowing I needed something more filling than the cookie I had earlier, I made my way across the street from the old prison and to OCF Coffee House.
It was such a beautiful café, and their food was amazing. I had a Classic Grilled Cheese with a packet of crisps and orange juice.
I was definitely ready for the next event afterwards.
***
Crossing the road, I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and flicked through my emails as I approached the Eastern State Penitentiary’s entry. I smiled at the two employees as I slowed my steps, my phone slowly loading with the online ticket I had.
The male employee, Harvey, scanned the ticket on his device and gave me a wide-tooth smile. “Excellent! I see you’ve requested to have the audio with it also?”
I nodded, “Yeah. I thought it might be good to actually hear someone talk about the prison’s history as well as reading the information boxes.”
Harvey nodded in understanding, turning halfway as he pointed down a stairwell just a little into the entry point. “If you just follow down those stairs and just straight on, you’ll find where all the audio tour devices are. Someone should be there to hand one over and explain how it works. And then, straight on after that point, you’ll start your tour.”
“Thanks,” I adjusted my backpack as I placed my phone back into my back pocket. “How long does it take? The tour?”
“It depends,” Harvey started. “If you just stick to the main tour, it should take around forty minutes.”
“The main tour?”
“The main tour consists of ten audios on the device, but there are around, I think, forty audios you can listen to around the whole of the prison. Which, if you did that, it would take around four to five hours.”
I blinked, “Wow, that’s a lot of…talking.”
Harvey laughed. “Most definitely. Enjoy.”
“Thanks!”
‘Okay, I gotta ask,’ the responsible voice echoed out along with the steps I took down into the lower part of the land. ‘How can you enjoy being in a prison?’
***