Well, we can't have that!
(Unless that's what you posted next.
)
No, just one picture of Fran and I.....
Interesting. I would've thought
that would've been okay.
Those wire stands are way too 20th century, the metal work is much more refined than you would have had in the CW and too many moving parts and things.
Really!
Now that surprises me.
Why?
Or why you specifically?
Well, I didn't like "sitting around looking pretty". I wanted to "do" something. The band didn't have a bass drum player and it doesn't take a heck of a lot of skill. Especially that era of music, you're basically hitting the drum on one and three (in 4/4 music) and on the downbeat in 2/4 music or 3/4 (waltzes). It wasn't tough to do, and then I could be a part of the group too.
The saxophone was invented the first year that the CW broke out, but most bands didn't have woodwinds due to their delicate nature. Plus saxophones were only in France until about the 1880s when they started to gain popularity in military bands.
I've never been to anything like that.
I'm surprised they even reenacted casualties!
I presume the number of casualties were based
on the actual battle?
I don't know how that battles actually worked, we didn't pay a ton of attention to them. Mainly cause that was the only time we had to grab some food or take care of other stuff we needed to do. I think it was predetermined who was going to "go down", and whether or not you were just injured (ie lay on the ground moaning) or dead. Since there weren't any battles in California, I think they just sort of made them up at each event. I could be totally wrong.
That sounds like a ton of fun!
And very nice of Fran.
It was great fun. I think even more fun than my 50th party was!
I'm so glad things have changed.
Me too!
but I suspect for different reasons!
How much were they?
Feel free to ignore this question, of course.
I asked Fran and I even searched around on the internet, but perhaps that guy is no longer making them. She seems to think that they were around $150 each.
Also...
You played in a cemetery! That surprised me.
But somehow seems appropriate.
It was a Veteran's memorial service so.....
Okay, now that's my kind of payment!
Except we had to pay for it. I think it was like $16.95
I didn't know that.
I know she'd had surgery (or surgeries)
but not that she was that bad.
She didn't have any surgeries for the pneumonia, but the two or so weeks on the ventilator and feeding tube, caused her to lose a bunch of weight and strength.
The right hip replacement was planned for a while and just when she was going in for it, the second bout of pneumonia hit. I don't remember now when she had it done, but I think it was delayed 7-8 months. Here knees were about six months afterwards, one at a time.
Now that part I knew.
I guess that must be around
the time you and I started
to get acquainted.
Yes, she had recovered from that just a little before we became acquainted.
Hmmm..
I can see that too.
Lots of work, definitely.
And a fair bit of expense as well.
And yet... it sure looked like a good time, too.
And now you can see why I view getting the
scooter in and out of the car as "a piece of cake". Way easier than setting up a Civil War Camp.
They actually did that!
(I presume?)
I always thought that was more
of a Hollywood thing.
Huh!
I think they did. When going from place to place, the roads were not wide so it probably made sense. That way any wagons they met on the way could pass easily.
Can you imagine being pulled
over by the cops?
"Where y'all headed with this?"
"The bank, officer."
Good one! Seriously though, I bet they had to have permits and stuff!
Impressive.
And very interesting.
I'd love to see something like that.
And not to open a can of worms,
but I wonder how accepted it is these days?
Well I just googled, and found an article that in 2018, they had to close a battle in Virginia (or somewhere out east) to the public because of threats of a pipe bomb. Also that the younger generation isn't so into it and people my age are starting to get tired or have elderly parents to care for, so it may be dwindling.
Really! More surprises.
I had no idea there was so much!
In the actual Civil War, people would bring picnic baskets and actually sit on the sidelines and observe. The units had "groupies" that would follow them around.
What's the pin you have on?
That's actually a watch. The wrist watch was not invented yet, so men had pocket watches and ladies had those things. It was positioned so that I could look down, and hold it upright and read the time.
So... were those gentlemen treated
with any sort of deference?
Or were they just "actors in costume"?
Well, I didn't know anything about Grant, I only saw him that once, but Lincoln seemed like everyone in the ACWS (American Civil War Society) knew him. Like he was everyone's buddy. When he would interact with kids and spectators, we would act in character.
BTW I checked the website for the ACWS and the last thing posted was an event from 2018, but their website is there. Our "unit" was the 2nd Cavalry because that's where the band leader was able to "hang his hat". They aren't listed as active units on their website so I don't know what happened.
It would seem to me that if an Antebellum party isn't cool these days, than CW reenacting probably isn't either. Too bad because in my experience it wasn't about prejudice and such, it was about recreating history and teaching it to others.
Sorry to hi-jack your TR momentarily.
Hi Jackie!
