Mike and Joe might be more correct than they know. The fact is that we, who pretty much started living history during the fifties, sixties and seventies, have little coming behind us that is not virtual, cloud, acronyms such as OMG, and a public school system that can't discriminate between presidents and is not allowed to teach the fundamentals of our society, such as family, God, responsibility and so on.
On the other hand, Go take a look at Mike's website and websites like it, poke around Track or Pecatonica, and "go online" to items like this forum. Those of us who are left have a richer experience because of each other. I passed up opportunities to go to The Eastern , the North Eastern and Something calling themselves "The Original" because of some pointless clash that started years ago because I did not need them and am too old to suffer through setting up and taking down or driving to the point where the Bluegrass Channel on XM puts me to sleep rather than entertains me. This entire thread is because I started something I would not have dreamed of or had the capacity to do in the 70's and 80's...cobble a customized rifle out of a factory gun because I could not afford one of Mike's or Nate's or Dangler's firearms.
I have had a boat load of fun with that project, part of which is due to one sentence from Mike that re-directed me from investigating a Jaeger and pushed me more toward transitional, and Nate McKenzie plugged me into parts sources so I did not stay up the creek with the original topic of this thread. So I learned a lot. From the first day I picked up a Zouave from Dixie in 1968(?) up to this sentence everything I have been through has been due to the people I have met.
I can go see Nate, have no idea where the deuce Mike is, and have something to do every morning at five over coffee because Al Gore "invented"the net. Not bad.
The value of this is in its people. The fifteen years I was more or less away from the 18th century I also thrived in Cowboy Action, and I learned several years ago that there can be more re-enactors at Gettysburg than actually fought there
SO, we ain't dead yet, but I guess we can see it from here.
Thanks, and,
Don't shoot yore eye out, kid
Greg Geiger
The Capgun Kid
The Still River Cordwaiiner