The Coordinate Dial

Leaving the quiet confines of the hallway behind, I walked out along the chilly sidewalk toward Central Memorial Park to survey the perimeter. Ascending the low granite plinth near the historic library steps, I discovered a circular bronze survey benchmark embedded flush in the stone. A weathered spruce cone lay resting squarely across its central crosshair, obscuring the etched elevation figures. Bracing the butt of my bayoneted rifle against a masonry seam to anchor my balance, I set both gloved hands to the cone and rolled it aside into the stone ledge. With the bronze medallion unobstructed, the civic coordinates now lie cleanly exposed to the overcast morning.