"My, you've grown a foot since I saw you last!"

This past weekend was the 3-day Civil War Remembrance event at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI... a part of the impressive Henry Ford Museum complex. It is a grand kick-off of the reenacting season each year in Southeast Michigan. This has to have been one of the nicest events and best time we've had since moving to to the Greater Metro-Detroit area.

And we have had many and most have been awesome!

This tops them all!

Any event for reenactors is more than just an opportunity to throw on some odd clothes and pretend. It is quite literally a family reunion... and a chance to see folks you might not have seen since the last reenactment - or for a few. Not every unit makes every event. And even in our own unit, the responsibilities of modern day life and of non-reenacting family doesn't always allow each of us to attend everything on our calendar.

And it is always an chance to meet new friends yet un-met. Above is one such new friend... a terrific young man. I am good, good friends with his dad... but until this weekend I hadn't met Randall. He came along to try out reenacting and to get his feet wet in the hobby.

Or should I say, foot.

As an eight-year old, Randall had the unfortunate encounter with a rider mower. Kids are a resilient lot and Randall I gather adapted especially well in the aftermath. He walks with far more grace and confidence than I ever have. No one would ever suspect he wears a prosthetic foot. Except for when he faces north and the twists the thing to face south. With that knowledge of his comfort and good humor I asked him for a favor. Reenactors generally are a overly healthy bunch. Whole of limb and wide of girth. And more than a tad older than the young real-life Civil War soldier. Sooooo.....

We have a doctor in our unit (real doctor in real life, Civil War doctor in Civil War life)... and Doc sets up a forward field hospital tent at events. I told him about Randall... and then introduced them.

The above photograph is the result. Doc had him bandage himself up... apply a modicum of blood (not to push the gruesome envelope too far) and lay there on the stretcher. Doc gave him a liberal dose of laudanum for the pain (okay, it was vanilla extract)... It allowed Doc to explain better about the great numbers of amputations during the war and of much else.

The public was much impressed. Certainly they first thought that Randall had tucked his leg behind him or that there was a hole cut in the stretcher. But as he moved around and sat up, they realized the young fellow was authentic!

I wish, however, I could have seen the faces of those who later recognized him walking happily on two feet through Greenfield Village!