The Story of A.M. Skull

The Story Of A.M. Skull

An explanation of what A.M. Skull has do do with "Beataphonic" and the post to Bits & Pieces. Absolutely nothing.

The title A.M. Skull doesn’t really mean anything. The name was just graffiti on the side of an old warehouse that appeared in a picture I took along the Mississippi Riverfront, just south of Sparta. At the time, I was living in Saint Louis.

Sparta was a camp where folks with nowhere else to go came together. It was home to many who lived in tents or makeshift shelters. The camp even had its own mayor, and a few simple rules meant to protect everyone and keep the peace.

The mayor appointed a handful of residents to help make sure life there stayed calm and fair. Disputes were handled by a small panel chosen by the permanent residents. Everyone was welcome in Sparta, but if you wanted to stay and set up a shelter, you had to agree to the rules and build something of your own.

When I lived in Saint Louis, I often walked the cobblestone streets along the river and spent hours by the water. It was a great place to clear your head and step away from whatever it was you were getting away from that day. That’s how I found Sparta.

The camp welcomed me. I wasn’t a resident, but no one seemed to mind. At night there was a communal fire where people gathered, shared stories, and connected in a mellow, easy way.

It wasn’t utopia, but there were a lot of kind people living there who would share what little they had without hesitation. I came across that old photo while working on a Bits & Pieces blog post, and it brought the memories rushing back. I wanted to share a few of those moments that made it special.

Sparta lasted for a couple of years before the wise men in power decided to tear it down. Everyone went their separate ways, and I never saw any of them again.

You can destroy the camp, but you can’t destroy the memories or the good spirit that came out of Sparta. That still lives in the hearts of the people who were touched by it, and that’s a truly beautiful thing.

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