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Post by Paws on Dec 10, 2006 8:05:02 GMT 12.75
Mm Mm MMMMMM! Man I don't think I'd go straightening Santa out this close to Christmas! Y'all might end up with sticks and coal in your stockings!~ Don't antagonize him cause I might need his help here right quick. Looks like them goodies I just bought for our troopers are going to cost right about eleven dollars a pound to ship! At right around twelve pounds that's a whole lot of green stamps!!
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Post by Mars on Dec 10, 2006 10:59:06 GMT 12.75
Sticks and coal? Cool! I could use atleast a truck load of each right now.
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Post by Paws on Dec 10, 2006 13:22:07 GMT 12.75
Pick'em up truck or one of them great big honkers that goes "chit shue" and breaks down in the middle? ;D
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Post by Mars on Dec 10, 2006 19:39:00 GMT 12.75
Either one would work. We had a train derail up in the Gorge a few months ago that lost 28 car loads of coal. Most of it was cleaned up but there is still several tons of coal laying in there free to anybody that wants to go get it. We have "several" people drawing goverment checks and or other "help" because they are unemployed and they happen to burn coal and wood for heating. Some of them are young, early to mid 20's, and being unemployed have plenty of time to walk the 3 miles and get a backpack and a couple of buckets of coal to bring back to use. Yet they won't do it because it requires the 6 mile round trip and the goverment(us) will deliver coal to their door for free. A person could easily make 4 or 5 trips a day to get that coal and not only have some pride in "supporting" yourself but get some needed exercise as well.
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Post by Paws on Dec 11, 2006 3:27:50 GMT 12.75
My Grandpa Slater did exactly that when he was a boy and a young married man. they would take a gunney sack over the shoulder and walk the tracks picking up coal that rolled off the cars as the trains passed by. Sometimes one or two of the boys would get into the cars and "help" the coal find its way to a fall.
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peg
Roust About
Posts: 14
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Post by peg on Dec 11, 2006 6:46:35 GMT 12.75
I can't believe you all are talking about Santa's MANHOOD. You all are just going to get coal in your stocking, if you are lucky.
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peg
Roust About
Posts: 14
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Post by peg on Dec 11, 2006 6:52:08 GMT 12.75
I happen to agree about the uniforms and weapons. We have tried explaining to certain people that we are there to put on a show and should have all parts in good looking and working order. However, some people just believe that they would rather "starve" when their rifle misfires and walk through the campfire so that their uniform looks battle worn.
This is not good advertisement for re-enactors in general. Yes, the uniforms are not cheap, but with a little care, they can be made to look good and last for several years.
I am cheap when it comes to my clothes. I usually make my own dresses. Skirts are very easy and you can have several at an average cost of less than $20. I am currently making a skirt and a men's shirt for a couple for Christmas (they just joined our group) and I have less than $30 in both of them. I just have a few hours work.
Looking good doesn't have to be expensive, but looking good is a priority.
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Post by Paws on Dec 11, 2006 7:16:42 GMT 12.75
Well then, next outing I expect to see a burlap over the Major's head and under his hat!
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Post by shiloh on Dec 15, 2006 7:02:29 GMT 12.75
Reading more of Marcus Woodcock's memoir, he stated that in Feb/Mar of '63 while encamped around Murfreesboro, regular inspections were being made. Each man had to show up to inspection with a clean and orderly uniform and a clean and functional weapon. He said that some men would grumble about this duty. He described these as "the usual men who grumbled about doing any sort of work" but he didn't say that they didn't show to inspection with ragged uniforms or rusted guns.
Incidentally, he said after his 4-5th shot had been loaded into his Enfield on 2 Jan, '63 at Stones River, a passing cannon ball "took away" his bayonet. And he fired the shot only then to discover the barrel was bent badly enough that he could not load again. Probably the bayonet being struck swaged the muzzle into enough of an oval that he was unable to press the bullet in, but it allowed the previous bullet enough room to choke itself through. He said the thought never occurred to him to pick up another gun during the battle, so he just charged and retreated with the reg't and cheered his commrades along the way. It was only after the battle ended that day that he thought to pick up another gun, which he later found to also be damaged. It was 3 days later that he was re-issued a functional Enfield which gave him the same arm he had had & was what the rest of his Co. was carrying. It seems pain was taken to maintain a uniformity of arms in this company.
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Post by shiloh on Jan 9, 2007 4:29:45 GMT 12.75
Again, to add mroe on the "to polish" side of the debate, Marcus Woodcock wrote that at the beginning of the Atlanta campaign after the many Union troops came together around Chattanooga after wintering all over the East TN region, he was impressed by the polish the troops all had. "Polish" was described as in brasse and guns and neatness of uniforms. He went on to state that such polish was to be expected of troops after being in camp for a long time. He had been on furlough for a month prior, but his brigade had been wintering and doing short picket duties around Knoxville since soon after Chattanooga fell, for about 3 mos. In April they moved south a bit at a time often through rain and snow and were ready to begin the Atlanta campaign at Dalton, GA in early May. It was at the end of April/early May when he wrote the part about all of the polished troops coming back together, so even though there had been weeks of marching in rain and snow for them all, he noticed that the guns were polished.
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Post by Paws on Jan 9, 2007 9:14:13 GMT 12.75
With so very little to occupy the men in camp of a productive nature the better NCOs would undoubtedly have "busy worked" them to death with inspections, drill, and equipment show downs. Thus a few weeks in a stationaly location would result in much improvement in appearance, moral, and expectations. I was lucky enough to acquire a copy of Company Aytch for Christmas!
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Post by shiloh on Jan 10, 2007 3:24:44 GMT 12.75
Co. Aytch is a good book. A lot of it deals with the area where I live, between Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, TN. Watkins did a good job writing it, but tended to install too much detail for something written decades later in life to be 100% believeable. I think overall it is accurate, but either his memory was super-sharp or he tended to use knowledge he gleaned later in life about the war after talking to others or reading the many after-action memoirs in teh magazines and papers to "enhance" what he remembered.
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Post by Paws on Jan 10, 2007 5:31:23 GMT 12.75
I don't know. Memory is a funny thing. There are things I remember from the Vietnam era that seem meaningless yet important things, to my way of thinking, I can not remember from last week. For instance, who gives a rat's patute what an AFTO Form 35 is? Are your latest CDC scores posted to your AF Form 623? Where do you keep your DD Form 2AF? How about hand me a form 341! 3708th BMTS flight 1360! APO SF96274 or SF96311. ;D Meaningless drivel but I can't seem to forget it. Oh, scrambled eggs, SOS, bacon and a glass of milk is $1.25 down at the flight l,ine cafeteria at Clark in 1969. ;D (Oh and the Chief says do not use the pallets covered with tarps for cover during rocket attacks cause some of them are loaded with napalm!)
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