During the off season of reenacting (November through April) I go through "time travel withdrawals," so I have to come up with ideas to carry me through those rough, cold months of Michigan winters.
Actually, December isn't really too bad. I spend my weekends up in Holly dressed as a Dickensian character at the annual Holly Dickens Festival (it's nowhere near authentic as in CW, but we give a fun impression). This year one of my portrayals will be Mr. Charles Dickens himself!
Another way to keep me from pulling what's left of my hair out is to write. Last year I began to write a story for the first time since I was in high school (too many years ago!) - it's a time travel story and it involves my family and I. Without getting too deep into the story line, I will say that I am making the attempt to write it as if it actually happened. This forces me to research, very deeply, every little part of life as lived in the 1860's. By doing this, I have found that my social history knowledge has grown immensely! I have been having loads of fun writing this little tale, trying to show me and my family's reactions to this major change in our lives. No, I don't become a CW hero or anything like that - the story just shows how we attempt to adjust to a very antiquated lifestyle, with attempt being the key word. As much as I love history, you see, in my story I/we have a very rough time with day-to-day activities, especially my wife.
I have consulted many "schooled" historians to get their thoughts and opinions of accuracy in my story, lest one day I let it go beyond the extremely few eyes that had ever seen it.
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