The Fort God from Skip Alexander's story was and is a real person. The 'Kilar Mills' described in the story is my hometown and the Fort God lived a couple of houses down. I don't know that 'Robert Woods' spent as much of his time in the fort as the story suggests, but there was a fort and for kids my brother 12 of 12's age it was the place to hang out and party.

I'm about ten years older than 12 of 12, so it wasn't really my scene. I was a bit too much of an outsider to fit into the whole Redneck party crowd even during my time. 12 of 12 for some reason, even though he was very smart and studied hard, always had friends among the Rednecks, so he spent a fair amount of time in the fort. In it's time it was pretty much like Skip described it.

The Fort God's parent's were alcoholics. They inherited the house they lived in from Robert's grandparents. It was one of the most beautiful, well-kept places in our little hamlet before they moved in. Ten years after they inherited the place, it was biggest sty around. The grass grew long, the paint flaked off, and broken windows remained broken. About five years ago, there was a tax foreclosure on the property.

The Fort God's sister had her first child at the age of thirteen. The Fort God himself ended up with a bunch of kids. He moved next door to my mother a few years after the tax foreclosure with a woman who may have been "Donna" from Skip's story. He kept mean, nasty dogs that were eventually taken away after they bit his children. My brother 12 of 12 claims that when he went for a visit a few years ago, the interior of the Fort God's apartment had old dried dog feces lying in various places. In my work, I deal with a lot of people like this.

None of this should detract from the mythological character that was the Fort God. For a certain type of Redneck, he was like a character out of a dream. For a brief window of time in his late teens and early twenties, the Fort God lived a life that was the fantasy of many a Redneck.

For a time, whenever 12 of 12 would return home for a visit he would hang out with his old Redneck crowd, playing music, smoking pot, and drinking cheap beer. When I spoke with 12 of 12 he claimed that he no longer had any local connections. The suicide of a friend of his had pretty much severed his last ties.