Showing posts with label world war II. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world war II. Show all posts

Monday, June 7, 2010

Man, Blogging is hard!

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know I'm alive. I don't know how I let the month of May come and go without writing anything, certainly not because there hasn't been much to write about, but I'll catch up soon since I've got stuff on my mind I wanted to share.

Otherwise, I wanted to say we here in West Chester have successfully made the transition from Winter to Spring, and are about to turn the corner into Summer. Allergies have come and gone, with only a hint of pink eye. I even missed the World War II weekend in Reading, PA, my first in 5 years. Of course living with a female again might have had something to do with that, especially since we went last year. That said, I'm going to try and drag her to the air show at New Garden Flying Field in Toughkenomen this weekend, June 12th and 13th, Saturday there is supposed to be a flyby of a B-2 bomber, so that'll be cool! Anybody else want to come with? Anybody? No? Ok fine, whatever.

Oh, and another quick note, Tuesday is West Chester Story Slam, with the theme of "Broke", and I still don't know what I'm going to talk about, (I wouldn't know anything about not having money, *ahem*) and Thursday I'm one of about 10 people hosting walking tours of the neighborhood of Northwest West Chester starting from the Chester County Historical Society and compared to some of the human encyclopedias that live here in West Chester, I'll be lucky to finish my tour with the same people I started with and not get lost.

So on all counts, wish me luck, and once I get over the hump here, I'll write more about what's grinding my gears....

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Busy Summer Weekends

Things really pick up in the summertime around here, so much so that often we are faced with choices as to which event we'll check out, so it's always fortuitous when you can do everything you want over the course of the weekend, and yet still, chances are, you missed something.

So how lucky was I when I got to go into the way back machine and meet General Douglas MacArthur? Now last time I saw him, he was lying in his crypt next to his wife in Norfolk, Virginia. (I bet you didn't know he was buried in Norfolk, am I right? I mean, General of the Army buried in the middle of a Navy town? Thank his southern belle Mother for that, and now you know)

Obviously I'm talking about having gone to the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's World War II weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania where military reenactors, restored to duty aircraft and military vehicles converge for living history presentations. I don't know, but for a guy like me, is there anything better than walking a few steps and visit a German encampment, and another few steps to an American camp, to an Canadian camp, to a Soviet camp?

I know that having been in the Army, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of voluntarily and without getting paid setting up GP Medium tents and concertina wire and wearing wool uniforms in the summertime, not to mention paying lots of money via buying uniforms, gear and the like for the honor of doing so, but I'm glad these people have this passion, because what better way to connect to our passed than try to live it?
Also, what I'm kind of digging these days is that more women are doing the whole reenactment thing, and not just as WAC's, but just as civilian women on the home front, because I imagine unlike a Civil War era woman with all her petty coats, there is something pretty cool (and comfortable) about the sexy look of 1940's women. Bright red lip sticks, tight skirts, hair done up and cute hats, it's a great look!


So that was Saturday, SUNDAY was Super Sunday in West Chester, and it was great weather for it. They close down Gay and High Streets, put some bandstands on either end, a bunch of vendors in between, and the opportunity to buy that ubiquitous turkey leg or funnel cake, and it's a simple formula for a good time. A good time as obviously had by this guy here, who just can't stop dancing to the cool jazz of a lazy, sunny Sunday in West Chester.