My First Day In Uniform
It has been a way-too-eventful week. The boys and I went fishing on Tuesday afternoon at my cousin's house and each caught about 4-5 brim. Shortly after leaving his house we found out that an uncle was in the hospital and had to be life-flighted to Atlanta. On Wednesday Barry was in an accident and totaled our van. Thankfully he is fine!!!
Finally Saturday arrived, and I reported for my first mission with the Georgia State Defense Force: the Big Shanty Festival in Kennesaw, Georgia. At 6:25 AM I swore in and at 6:30 was in my first formation. I was so thankful that Barry stood me in the kitchen the night before and practiced showing me how to stand and turn and salute so I didn't look like a complete idiot!!! There were six medics, so they split us into two teams. One team deployed to the battlefield where the reenactment was going to take place, and the other deployed to the downtown Kennesaw area where the festival was getting ready to start. We figured on a busy day with 800 reenactors and an estimated 60,000 people in attendance!
Our team reported to the battlefield first, and took the time to walk the grounds and get an idea where everything was. The funniest thing I saw was a guy who looked like Robert E. Lee carrying a "dead" horse over one shoulder! These things were full-size and amazingly life-like but weighed nearly nothing. In addition to General Lee, President Abraham Lincoln was present. (I spotted him later in downtown Kennesaw behind a building drinking a Coke!) The sheriff's department sent sack lunches to the battlefield for us by our colonel on an ATV, and we stood in the shade and chatted with the ambulance crew we were partnered up with. After lunch we switched with the other team and went into downtown. We picked up three CIvil Air Patrol cadets and roamed throughout the festival patching boo-boos. Thankfully we had no serious injuried to tend to, although I became a casualty myself. I was shot by a marshmallow gun and had the white mark on my uniform to prove it! I had been on point and gallantly shielded the other five members of my team from enemy fire! Wonder if I'll get a medal or promotion for that?
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and the other medics were great people to be with. Apparently they didn't find me to be too much of a nutcase, as they all said they looked forward to seeing me again at the May drill. The visitors were all very nice to us. A foreign family wanted to take our photo with their children. Many of the food vendors offered us free drinks and snowcones all day. According to the colonel, the sheriff's department was also very complimentary about our performance and professionalism.
Barry brought the children up to see the reenactment. He was in uniform too, since it makes things easier to navigate through that way. (Security personnel are more likely to allow your dancing 8-year-old to get to the "restricted" staff-only potties when you are in uniform!) When we headed home we stopped by Cracker Barrel for supper. I must admit that it was cool to see the respect you get in uniform. When the time came for us to pay our bill, two servers came to our table. It seemes that three tables wanted to pick up our check. One table paid the bill, one table prepaid for four desserts, and the other table simply sent their thanks to us. It was really humbling.
I certainly hope my future activities with the Georgia State Defense Force are as rewarding as what I did this weekend. I feel that in some small way I made a difference, and am no worse for wear. I have recovered from my marshmallow shooting, and only have slightly pink ears from being in the sun! I look forward to the next drill in May and more adventures in combat boots!
Finally Saturday arrived, and I reported for my first mission with the Georgia State Defense Force: the Big Shanty Festival in Kennesaw, Georgia. At 6:25 AM I swore in and at 6:30 was in my first formation. I was so thankful that Barry stood me in the kitchen the night before and practiced showing me how to stand and turn and salute so I didn't look like a complete idiot!!! There were six medics, so they split us into two teams. One team deployed to the battlefield where the reenactment was going to take place, and the other deployed to the downtown Kennesaw area where the festival was getting ready to start. We figured on a busy day with 800 reenactors and an estimated 60,000 people in attendance!
Our team reported to the battlefield first, and took the time to walk the grounds and get an idea where everything was. The funniest thing I saw was a guy who looked like Robert E. Lee carrying a "dead" horse over one shoulder! These things were full-size and amazingly life-like but weighed nearly nothing. In addition to General Lee, President Abraham Lincoln was present. (I spotted him later in downtown Kennesaw behind a building drinking a Coke!) The sheriff's department sent sack lunches to the battlefield for us by our colonel on an ATV, and we stood in the shade and chatted with the ambulance crew we were partnered up with. After lunch we switched with the other team and went into downtown. We picked up three CIvil Air Patrol cadets and roamed throughout the festival patching boo-boos. Thankfully we had no serious injuried to tend to, although I became a casualty myself. I was shot by a marshmallow gun and had the white mark on my uniform to prove it! I had been on point and gallantly shielded the other five members of my team from enemy fire! Wonder if I'll get a medal or promotion for that?
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the day, and the other medics were great people to be with. Apparently they didn't find me to be too much of a nutcase, as they all said they looked forward to seeing me again at the May drill. The visitors were all very nice to us. A foreign family wanted to take our photo with their children. Many of the food vendors offered us free drinks and snowcones all day. According to the colonel, the sheriff's department was also very complimentary about our performance and professionalism.
Barry brought the children up to see the reenactment. He was in uniform too, since it makes things easier to navigate through that way. (Security personnel are more likely to allow your dancing 8-year-old to get to the "restricted" staff-only potties when you are in uniform!) When we headed home we stopped by Cracker Barrel for supper. I must admit that it was cool to see the respect you get in uniform. When the time came for us to pay our bill, two servers came to our table. It seemes that three tables wanted to pick up our check. One table paid the bill, one table prepaid for four desserts, and the other table simply sent their thanks to us. It was really humbling.
I certainly hope my future activities with the Georgia State Defense Force are as rewarding as what I did this weekend. I feel that in some small way I made a difference, and am no worse for wear. I have recovered from my marshmallow shooting, and only have slightly pink ears from being in the sun! I look forward to the next drill in May and more adventures in combat boots!
posted by Jennifer at 9:33 PM
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