The damn raccoon is back

[joshcryer]

112. I remember!

You mentioned it once before!

Was meaning to ask you if you still had it!

I long since had to throw mine away because they got mildew from being in basement storage for too long. I had a whole box of 'em. We'd take them to the Crab Orchard Museum and sell them during the Jefferson Civil War Reenactment weekend. Made big bucks for a kid! Always sold out! (We could only make about 20 a year, which sold for about $15-25 depending on the pelt.)

Also, it seems I brought up killing racoons to Aerows before, I hope they don't think I'm crazy! That's rural livin'! No hard feelings to the critters. Just joshing for the most part. (But seriously, I want a nice coonskin cap with silk lining and cotton stuffing like my mom used to make.)

BTW, my brother used to work at Crab Orchid and was "allowed" to be in the reenactments (much was known about the number of troops on either side and the tactics used). I was allowed to "play" one year but they made me a confederate! It really boiled me over, and my gun jammed early on (they used fake ammo but mine never went off). Darn Union killed me, first on the field. My brother was a Union guy and pretended to fall out of a window when he went down, it caused the crowd to cheer. I'll never forget that. A Don Knotts "lookalike" attended that year, and he gave out "fake autographs." Toward the end of the weekend though it turned out it was the real Don Knotts! So I met him in person. Fun damn times... still have that autographed picture somewhere, not sure why he pretended to be a "lookalike." I think he got a kick out of it.

Here's a good video of how it looked:

It's nothing like modern warfare, so I think that's why these reenactments are sort of not frowned upon. It's more like chess than it is modern death and destruction. I feel bad now knowing the stuff you endured, having, as a teen "play fought" in those "battles." It's different. I don't know. Now I'm wondering why we do it, actually. It's still war. Damn. Best wishes my friend.