First Gray Door
A small greeting to the woman behind a
counter, and you walk through the first heavy
gray door and up the waiting flight of stairs.
Another gray door and you are in a hall; at one
end is a gray door with a "B" painted on it.
You press the doorbell, and hear the
scurrying inside as it rings inside the door.
Twenty heavy heartbeats later, the knob turns
and you are inside.
You are surrounded by a dozen men in
varying suits of gray, wearing a range of shoes
from laceless oxfords to sneakers with heels
jutting out to unique canvas sandals. You say
hello to the doctor; he gives a puff on his cigar,
and walks back into an inner room in the ward.
Western State Hospital in Staunton is part of
the state mental hospital system - Eastern
State is located near Williamsburg. There are
usually 2700 patients at any one time; about
one third of them are long term, which means
they will probably spend the rest of their lives
there.
