The boys liked to play on the earthwork berm,
at the fort, San Marcos de Apalache
I liked to walk out to
Luther Tucker Point, at the confluence of the St. Marks
and
Wakulla Rivers, where they joined, and ran to the sea.
We dug up some Hessian mercenaries from the fort.
The water table is
high there, so the skeletons were immersed
in salt water. The brains inside the
skulls were pickled. Dr. Dailey
wanted to measure the skulls, and compare them
to indigenous
(that is, Indian) and white populations, so he had me remove
the
brain tissue. I went in through the foramen magnum with
an iced-tea spoon. When
I punctured the integument, a pink miasma
swooped out into the room, like a velvet
fog (Mel Tormé). It was scary.
I have smelled death. It smelled like a public
bathroom
mixed with dry-cleaning solvents.