Countdown to July 7

[L Verge]

Back in the 1970s, we were constantly being pestered by a woman from Florida who wanted to know if there was a puddle under Mary Surratt. We would answer that we could not make one out in the photographs. A few months later, she would write again with the same question. We finally realized that she had other strange questions and tried to turn them personal. Come to find out, she was in a mental ward at the state prison. End of correspondence.

When John and Barry first showed me their high-resolution photos, however, that question came back to me, and I asked them what they thought. Their answer was "no puddle," and anything under the scaffold appeared to be shadows. It is very doubtful with all the pantalets, petticoats, and cotton stockings that Mrs. Surratt had on that any puddle would have formed on the ground if her bladder had relieved itself.