What keeps you Going?

[coastaltrash]

Just to get on a positive note as we all sit about a month or two away from our first events of the fall season, and inspired by Dale Beasley's comments, I ask the question.

What keeps you going in this hobby?

For me the whole thing boils down to friends. I have great friends in this hobby, in fact, one is standing in my wedding next year along with guys that have been friends of mine since I was in preschool. I've done about as much as I can do in this hobby, I've marched, I've boiled in wool, I've woken up at an event and had to knock ice out of my canteen and wait for the frost to melt off my blanket. I've been a Private to a Captain in this hobby several times over, and at the end of the day, that and a $1.50 could buy me a cup of coffee.

I've fought off burn out several times. In 2004 I sold all of my stuff after the Fort Gaines living history, and only after repeated phone calls from Andrew Martin, formerly of the WIG and Sloppy Beagle Mess AND Cleburne's, did I come back out. He sold out in March of 2005. My other good friend, Colbi Rosenthal sold out in March 2006, the same month as Justin Morris.

The research will keep going long after the last piece of my kit is sold on the AC for pennies of what I paid for it, so thats not a reason for me to stay around. My fiance loves this hobby, because she was raised in it, and we now enjoy doing research together, so I'm not going to sell out because the wife hates it. In fact that last reason is why I even attend as much as I do now.

So there are my reasons for staying in, what are yours?

[1stMo Drummer]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I have to agree. Friends is one of the biggest reasons I stay in.
I love history, of course or I wouldnt spend so much $$ on this, so doing the research to find out just exactly what that button on X uniform was/looked like.
Not to mention to honor my ancestors who fought for the South during the war.
Being a lover of history but also of politics another reason I do it is to educate people of the past, for if we do not know our history it is bound to repeat itself.
But the main reason is the comraderie. Ive got friends in this who have watched me grow up, since i started at age 5, all the way to new people met at every event.

[Haversack]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I love history.This is a very big reason for me.I know really great people from this hobby.And I am honoring my ancestors,North and South.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Hallo!

New and kewyler keyboards...

;) :)

Just a-funnin'...

Curt

"It is the province of the historian to find out, not what was, but what is."

-Henry Thoreau, 1849

[lukegilly13]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Some people say they are in it for education...not so much for me as I am a teacher and that pretty much facilitates my education kick,

Some people are in it for the history...I volunteer as an interpreter at a national park doing presentations and tours so that pretty much takes care of my history kick.

My wife knows about it, has never done it, but tolerates it very well and in fact, encourages it! I think both of us being teachers and having the summers off leads her to want rid of me a few weekends hahaahahahaha.

So I guess my involvement is a little different than most folks. I just flat enjoy it. I like coming home and my wife saying, "you spent the weekend in that" or "what smells so bad?" and getting to answer..."me." I like the stories that develop and the friendships it produces. I like getting in borderline argument/discussions with folks on here only to know that in a few months I may have to split a shelter half in a rainstorm with that same person to keep from drowning. Mostly, it's just the best dang hobby in the world. Think about it...if you start getting tired of it....jump sides from gray to blue or pick a different unit to research. Golfers don't get to research and pretend to be Tiger Woods. Coin collectors usually don't research and dress like the guys that mented the coins. Our hobby is VERY dynamic. If you get tired of playing soldier...write a book for a while. If you get tired of researching...stick with what you got for awhile. I like laying on the ground at night and wondering if my ancestors looked at the same stars and thought the same thing I am thinking. When it comes down to it, I guess I just wanted a hobby that I could enjoy that was a little different and could be dynamic...and that would be rewarding....it's all of these for me!

[BrianHicks]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Having spent my previous life in the Marine Corps... my initial response is "In some small way, it's a continuance of my life in the Military". But upon greater reflection, that's just a small part of it. I started reenacting when I knew I would be retiring in a few years and moving out of California, and back towards Tennessee or Virginia (I settled in Tn). I wanted to start reenacting because of my interest in the conflict. Since then, I, like others above, have come to value the friendships I've developed, and consider that a greater attraction to stay in the hobby above all other considerations. Having stated that... I have, and will continue to go to events even if those 'close friends in the hobby' aren't involved, simply because we continue to have good events offered. When those friends are also at the event, the shared experience makes participating even more enjoyable.

[Curt Schmidt]

Hallo!

Wait a minute!

You get friends in this Hobby? Kewyl!

Hey... I've been cheated! ;) :) :)

Curt

Just the other day Gollum told me "You don't have any friends; nobody likes... you!

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Hi,

I stay in because I love history. I love being able to experence what the brave men that fought in the Civil War did. I also have some good friends that reenact, and I really like hanging out with them talking about a subject that we both love.

[boozie]

Re: What keeps you Going?

No doubt about it, friends! I got out of the "other side" for about 1 1/2 years. Tried doing some other modern things. Of course I started looking at gear online and every time I opened a C.W. book my mind would drift back to friends in the hobby. Now there are some mornings I will wake up at an event thinking "what in the heck am I doing here." There are also some burn out times, but they are short lived. Why quit, I know I would be back again at some point.

[Dale Beasley]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I have thought about this for some time. I have found that there is no Holy Grail and there sure aint no Elephant. I have found out in the last few years that there are hard-cores who are farby and the are Farbs who could be hard-cores.
The wonderful part about being in a Unit with good friends is that we have other interest besides reenacting.
And having come home from the War in Iraq, if it was not for my friends, I would never have gone back out.

[JimConley]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Pat Landrum keeps me going. I’ve tried to quit, but it scares the hell out of me to think what would happen if I did...

I always imagine the scenario as something along these lines:
The future Mrs. Landrum would hop on the next flight for Cincinnati, kick my door in, slap me around, make me get my gear together, while cursing and vilifying me. Then, as we leave my quiet, little suburban street in whatever vehicle she appropriated from the airport’s long term parking, I look back curious why there is a brick in the windshield of my car. After several hours of travel, I estimate I would then be thrown from the moving vehicle into some wooded area where I would find my messmates bivouacked, wondering what took me so damn long and why I was so apprehensive.:omg_smile

Seriously, though, the camaraderie and friendships I have in the hobby certainly help keep me going. Some of my friends and family in Cincinnati always wonder how it is that I know people from so many different states and talk with them on a regular basis. And the misfits that I hang around with at events are not only good friends, but good people.

Another thing that continues to interest me is that I never stop learning. No matter how much time I spend reading, going to museums, handling originals, scrolling through the LOC photos, and visiting battlefields, there is always so much more to learn and appreciate. And, through finding out new things, that only generates more ideas and ways to improve my impressions and experiences.

Of course there is always that complacent feeling when it seems you have finally grasped some small piece of what a Civil War soldier experienced. Some call this a “period rush.” They are very few and far between, but you keep coming back hoping for another one some day.

Oh, and I’m a gear addict. I can’t get enough of it!

[Parault]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Friendships, and the escape of modern life, if only for a short time. Yeah, the thing about honoring soldiers past, reliving history, and attempting to bring to life the soldier for taters, I like that too. I am always looking foward to the next event/get together, to see my pards.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Oh, and I’m a gear addict. I can’t get enough of it!
__________________
Jim Conley

Hi,

I love collecting gear, but it is hard to explain to my parents why I would want 3 differnet cartridge boxes, 8 differnet jackets, and 5 hats.:D The other thing they wonder is why anyone would want to spend the night in the cold and the rain.

Andrew Kasmar

[OldKingCrow]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I don't really have any "friends" in the hobby or been part of a unit and never had a "period" moment that y'all speak about.

I keep going on the periphery of the hobby as it provides a tangible aspect to the volumes of reading I do on the subject.

I would love to experience the events and things that many have done and shared here .

[Haversack]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I can't get enough gear either.Like Andrew,my parents don't understand why I have and get so much.