Talk for SCV Camp #265, Rankin Rough and Readies

Okay, the Shelby Stupidisms for this trip? I forgot to put on deodorant before I left. But hey, I remembered the perfume! Thankfully, I had my tennis bag in the car, and I keep some there. Oh, and I forgot my jewelry. I usually don't wear any but do like to wear a necklace of a cross at least when I speak. Mark gave it to me as a gift. Yup...forgot that, too. And no, I didn't have an extra in my tennis bag.


It was a good day after that. Before going to the location in Brandon, Mississippi, I took a trip over to Vicksburg to do some research on two, possibly three, previously undocumented women who may have fought there. Then, it was off to Brandon, a little less than an hour away. When I arrived at the restaurant, I noticed the carpet of my car was soaked. *&$%@# air conditioner! So I spent probably 30 minutes dipping out water with a cup and mopping up the rest as best I could with a towel, both items I keep in my tennis bag.

 Before the talk, Tim Cupit, the president of the camp, treated me to a yummy meal of chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and sweet tea. I made sure I was all set up and ready to go first before indulging. Mark wasn't with me this time, so it looked as if a hurricane hit my gear table. He usually keeps things in order for me.

 For once, I'd like to report that nothing out of the ordinary happened. I'd love to just show up, speak, and go home. But at least my technology worked for the most part. One of my slides mysteriously animated before I clicked it though. Ugh. Other than that, the talk went well. I was given only 25 minutes, so I had to cut out a whole lot of neat stuff. I practiced before I left to make sure it could be done, and I clocked it at 23 minutes. When I spoke for real, it was 31. Not sure where the extra time went. Maybe aliens are to blame or something. Might as well be. Because I didn't have a lot of time to speak, there weren't that many questions.

A nice crowd of about 45-50 people were present. And even though this was a SONS of Confederate Veterans camp, there were women there as well: wives, family members, and others who provide services such as medical for the camp. One of the ladies, Barbara, seems to be a kindred spirit. She has a degree in mathematics and even taught at the University of Tennessee: statistics, if I remember correctly. She has also done engineering work. But with all of this math background, she still loves history, too. Here we are talking about my gear:

Photo by Chris Merck

Thanks to Chris Merck for passing along my information to the Rankin Rough and Readies and for Tim Cupit for contacting me and inviting me to speak.  I enjoyed it.  I would like to wish them the best for their Relic and Interactive Civil War show next weekend in Brandon.  It is a big fundraiser for them.  So if you're in the area, check it out.   Speaking of fundraisers, they donated $500 to the Mississippi version of Wounded Warriors, which I thought was fantastic.  I was able to talk to an elderly wounded warrior who attended the meeting.  He can't drive, but Mr. Cupit goes to pick him up for every meeting and brings him home.  The gentleman wanted to talk with me after the meeting about his novel he has written and is going to share it with me via email.   It is based on his experiences of traveling the world while in the military.  I'm looking forward to it!

Speaking of chatting with attendees, I failed to mention in a previous post about a young man in Urbandale, Iowa who was busing tables while I spoke for the Des Moines Round Table last month.  He said he was trying to listen as much as he could while he was taking care of his duties.  When everybody had cleared out, he approached me to ask more questions because he didn't get to hear as much as wanted.  Sometimes work gets in the way!  He is putting himself through college, and I was very impressed with his desire to learn.  It gives me hope.

Until next formation.....rest.