After all this time (several years, in fact), I am reviving this blog!
My blog revival entry is about how I got into the reenacting and living history hobby. It's no surprise that I watched a movie and that rekindled my adoration of the time period. I say rekindled because I have always fancied the American Revolution. What followed was nothing short of a stroke of luck! I found a small online group of people who fancied "The Patriot" (yes, THAT movie all reenactors hate) and soon enough, found one person who informed me about Revolutionary War reenacting. Reenacting? What is that, I asked. As he proceeded to tell me about reenacting - and it didn't take long to convince me that I wanted to participate in this hobby - , I was encouraged to find a group near me. Well, there was nothing near me but I found a Midwestern Revolutionary War organization called the Northwest Territory Alliance and thus began the best years of my life!
I found a forum or chat list for the NWTA that branched off of their site and then I inquired about joining the organization and hobby. Soon thereafter I was paired with a regiment to guest with them for a weekend. That regiment was the 42nd Highlanders, aka the Black Watch, and what a splendid host unit they were, too!
While I sought a Host unit to guest with that weekend, I had gone and procured a basic outfit for myself that MIGHT pass for something worn during the time period. As I look back at the photos of that event, I cringe quite visibly and ask myself "what a hideous outfit! What the hell was I thinking?". In all reality, and I eventually learned this: DO NOT buy anything before you go to your first reenactment because 9 times out of 10, what you get before the event is wrong! Granted, nowadays, there's better information and goods on what's acceptable at living history events, but I daresay that newcomers are as oblivious to a specific time period no matter if a person has been involved in other eras or are completely new to the hobby. Plus, you will improve in your impression appearance over time. Every reenactor starts out utterly incorrect, but we do progress towards a more period correct look as we research and make adjustments to be better presenters of history.
All it took was simply a fancy of the time period and finding a group who was doing the era I was interested in. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and the distance to events did not bother me in the slightest. However those were different times and little did I know how much everything would change!
My first reenactment was unforgettable and quite somber, because that was the weekend after 9/11. Every person was still in shock about what happened just days before, but the event was not cancelled. It was obvious we all needed that event to heal. For the most part, we all needed that event to heal each other. However, that weekend healed me in unique ways as I fell in love with the hobby, connected with people, learned about myself, and the importance of history that weekend. As I gazed up, whether it was day or night, and saw absolutely no plane or helicopter in the sky! Not a single one. The sky was unadulterated and I began to feel like I was truly back in time during the American Revolution witnessing the great rebellious change that created a new nation.
For the greater part, it was easy to get involved in living history and reenacting. It took nothing more than someone else who does reenacting to tell me about it and encourage me on my search for some group to join. Yup! It's truly as simple as that. All that happened in a matter of a weeks, too!! Sure, reenacting is expensive in the long run, but the greatest thing about living history and attending the events is the memorable fun you will have that lasts for the rest of your life!
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