Sunday, June 12, 2011

humans are a lot like figs

photo: jetheriot

When Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop’s fig tree was producing at its peak, so many figs would fall to the ground and rot in the hot July sun that a heavy stench of death would hover thickly in the air above them, buzzing with menacing wasps. Left to decompose in the midsummer sun, a human would attract insects just as quickly. Treated with the proper ingredients, however, both humans and figs can be preserved. To keep a human carcass from going bad, salt it until it's dry, then anoint it with herbs and oils and wrap it in scissored linens. To mummify figs, boil them in sweetened water and seal them in a jar.