Ink markers on two pieces of 8.5" x 5.5" paper by Joe Chiappetta 2010
Civil War Days, Dates, and Daughters
Essay by Joe Chiappetta 2010
I took my family to the annual Civil War reenactment that has been taking place for the past fifteen years at Dollinger Farms in Channahon, Illinois. The forty mile car ride, going sixty-five miles per hour, went by quicker than normal. That's because the previous evening, my wife and I bought an Amazon Kindle 3G from Target. This was on the way to our date at Starbucks. Both of us realized that such a combination of circumstances officially put us in the running for being the most stereotypical of American middle class couples.
Just for the record, I normally would not recommend bringing a Kindle--or any electronic device--on a date. However, being that this was the very first day wherein we got our hands on the e-Reader, opening the box, and then playing with the device for a few moments together did add a bit of uniqueness to the date. Sharing first impressions of an amazing piece of technology created a memory for us--good geeky times.
For those that don't know, the Kindle 3G is a $200 e-Reader that comes with free 3G Internet access. That means you pay one time for the device and there's no monthly fee to get online. Given that most phone companies charge at least $20 per month for the mobile Internet, that's a deal.
The following morning, as I drove the family to the Civil War reenactment, for the entire duration of the car ride, my wife kept testing the device out in amazement. Even my father-in-law, who accompanied us, was highly impressed. This was a big deal since usually he is uniquely talented at verbally denouncing new technology--with the eloquence of an old-time senator. Perhaps the country air did wonders for his demeanor.
"Facebook works!" my wife would say as she used the Kindle's experimental web browser. " I just updated my status. Oh, now I'm reading the New York Times home page."
Coming from a pattern of never paying for wireless mobile Internet, the fact that we could drive through remote areas of our state and still be able to surf the web was rather exciting. We felt like we were getting away with something.
This is the second time our family has been the wartime spectators at a Civil War reenactment. It's a popular county event with many reenactors and even more visitors. Every year seems to yield a richer historical experience. I also noticed some maturity on my youngest daughter's part. She's now four years old and seemed to have fun, despite the fact that there was not even one princess or cartoon character on the premises.
That's a big change over the last time we were here. Two years ago, all throughout the battle, with Rebel and Union guns going off and officers mounted on horseback galloping about urgently, she had the nerve to keep saying, "This is boring! When can we go?"
Comparatively, as we were watching the battle this year, my youngest daughter actually paid attention. "Which guys are the good guys?" she would ask in between bites of cheese ball snacks.
For a moment I was tongue tied. That's a deep question. Morally, there was good and evil components to both sides. Nevertheless, I decided to go for the simple answer and replied, "The guys on the left in blue are the Union--that's the good guys. The other guys in gray are the bad guys." I realized that there was so much more to the story, but for now, that answer would satisfy my curious child.
Moreover, speaking to how much my daughter has changed since our last Civil War outing, this year, after the battle ended, everyone else was tired and wanted to leave, but my daughter wanted to go out on the field to touch the cannons and pet a cavalry horse. That's exactly what we did.
The day also came with a nice slice of culture. We stopped to listen to a woman dressed in old-time clothes as she played something called the auto harp. Such an instrument looked like a cross between a harp, a guitar, and a typewriter. Bizarre combination aside, the results were lovely. She played and sang the most soul-stirring songs of a bygone era, and we appreciated just a bit more about the music that moved a whole country to fight for a future that most of them could never imagine--with e-Readers, reenactments, automobiles, five dollar Starbucks coffee, and the Internet.
Always quick with an insightful, yet satirical quip, my wife declared, "Our founding fathers would be proud."
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