In John Wayne's "True Grit", Wayne's Marshall Rooster Cogburn - a Confederate Civil War veteran - had a cat, you might recall, by the name of General Sterling Price. The historical original - and two-legged - General Sterling Price was an impressive and stubborn Rebel. Rather than surrender at the end of the war, Price took what was left of his army and went to Mexico... and became leader of a Confederate exile colony there in the state of Veracruz.
Up until recently, I never knew anyone, beside the aforementioned cat, who was named "Sterling"... him and, when I was a kid, British race car driver Stirling Moss. Sterling means "high quality". Or "impressive".
And the young gentleman standing here with me in the above image, is just that, impressive. A genuine and most likable Civil War enthusiast, I meet Sterling last fall at an event... and now this year, he and his family have joined with the 21st. A sharp, sharp kid. And I envy him. I saw my first reenactment back in the mid-1960s... would that I had started reenacting myself shortly thereafter. I can only imagine what sights, sites, sounds and smells I would have memories of today... if I had been in this grand hobby since I was Sterling's age. I envy all our unit's kids and teens early start in reenacting. Great kids all.
Imagine where it will take Sterling in the next forty years! General Sterling, no doubt! But Union, of course!
2 comments:
Good for you Mike...and good for that young man to have an example like you to follow. You can have a profound effect on his life in so many ways. Thanks for letting us in on this friendship!
Ron, thanks for the nice comments. But I was thinking more like Sterling is a good example for ME to follow... and HIM having an positive effect on MY life.
We have quite a few children... teens... families in our unit. I envy all the young ones... getting such an early start. Some as infants. It's all they know.
A few old gummer farts like me. Women. Men. A good mix. Socio-economically, et c. By-and-large, this is a very family friendly mix. Although very friendly to the singles too.
There were a bunch of kids at this recent event... playing (all period appropriate stuff, for the weekend. No video games, et c.)... being Yankees... marching... one was the captain... a kid was the drummer (and doing well), the rest were drilling and doing a good job at that too. They were keeping an eye out for 'federates.
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