Slept late, until nearly 8 a.m. Skipped my exercises, because I knew I'd get enough with walking around down by the river during the Civil War battle, and at the Confederate Ball tonight.
As soon as we'd had breakfast and gotten ready for the day, we went to the river park and toured the Civil War encampment, where I took lots of pictures. Here, we learned how crude the surgery was...wounded soldiers were given a cocktail of laudanum and opium, which was applied by placing an ordinary kitchen funnel over the patient's face. It was a mixture that could kill if not applied judiciously, so the surgeon would place the funnel over the face, and say something like "Mary had a little lamb," take the funnel away, then reapply it and say, "It's fleece was white as snow." The effects lasted only ten minutes, so the surgeon had to hurry to cut a flap of flesh back from the leg or arm, and then saw the affected limb away.
Our "surgeon" goes to schools to demonstrate this, and after a "surgery," he tosses a hand or foot into the audience. At one school, a cheerleader upchucked when it was tossed to her, and at another, a boy fainted. I'm thinking this might not be good practice on the part of the "surgeon."
Back home, I uploaded several snapshots to my social network page, and then I saw that Mother had lunch. After Hubbie and I had ours, we returned to the river to watch the battle. It was a noisy affair, with cannon and muzzle loader shots...boom! Crack! Today, the Union side advanced and flanked the Confederate soldiers, winning the battle. The ground was littered with "casualties" afterward. At one point, I heard one of the soldiers say, "Shoot him again! He's not dead, yet!" As in the real battles, these soldiers confiscated ammo from their fallen comrades.
There was a large crowd to watch the battle, somewhat like what would have happened in the real war, when folks gathered near the battlefield to picnic and watch the action. I don't think I could enjoy a picnic while watching young men being shot dead. But then, in those days, a hanging was cause for celebration.
At the encampment reception tent, a lady we know was selling copies of a book about the Civil War, written by the father-in-law of the Spanish student I tutor in English. Many years ago, I was cast in a Civil War play written by this man. So we bought the book, which was already signed.
Back home again, I uploaded snapshots to my social network page, and then Hubbie and I showered and got ready for the Confederate Ball. It was a trick getting into the van in my hoop, but I managed it. The ball was held at a local restuarant on the river, where dinner was served at 6 p.m. We were among the first to arrive, and my gown caused quite an admiring sensation. I wondored what sort of reception my dress would get (I was afraid I might look like a saloon girl), but I needn't have worried.
Dinner tonight was salad bar, followed by baked chicken fillet, baked potato, green beans, and roll, with hot bread pudding for dessert.
After dinner, the tables were pushed back, and participants danced to Civil War era music, provided by a young trio...one on dulcimer, one on violin, and a girl who sang. I joined in for one of the group dances, and Hubbie and I danced several waltzes. This was a perfect time to use the waltz skills we learned during ballroom dancing lessons a few years ago.
Funny: two young women tripped on their gowns during a group dance and fell flat on the floor. They hopped right up, though, and laughed along with the rest of us. I noticed that one older woman's gown was made to fall only to her ankles, rather than to the floor, so that she would not trip during dancing.
I was really glad to see my student at the event (her husband organized the weekend's events). She didn't arrive until after dinner, and I was afraid she would not come. In speaking with her, I learned that she has an abcessed tooth, and she wasn't sure she was going to feel well enough to come. But someone gave her pain medication so that she could function.
Because dental work is so expensive, she said she is not able to see a dentist here, and will have to wait until she goes back to Venezuela next week. She already has an appointment with her dentist there, but it will be ten days before she sees him. I hope she is okay until then. I told her that if she was ill tomorrow, she would be excused from class, but I haven't heard from her yet that she will not attend.
The student was beautifully dressed in a shade of green similar to my gown. A seamstress had fashioned a skirt with hoop to add to a sparkly top of the same color. The seamstress had also made a pair of fingerless long gloves. The student, whose hair is short and black, found a long-curl fall to add, to which was attached a black and green flower, also made by the seamstress.
During the event, the student and I talked with another lady, who wore two stunning dresses for the weekend events...a day dress with straw bonnet, and a ball gown. She said she obtained the day dress from a friend, who sold it to her for $20. With the help of her Mother, she made the ball gown, which, because of its intricacy, took about two years to complete.
She seemed interested in my gown, however, and snapped a picture of it, planning, I suspect to imitate it in some way. Her pale blue dresses with white trim, along with her blonde hair, to which she'd added a long-curl fall, made her a real stand-out in the crowd. I think the two of us managed to win the ball gown competition.
The muscians ended their performance with a rousing rendition of "Dixie," which we all sang. The dance lasted until around 9 p.m., after which we were asked to go onto the deck for the firing of the cannons in remembrance of the fallen soldiers of the Civil War, in which it is said at least 618,000 died.
It was a fun evening, but we were ready to hit the sack by the time we got home around 10 p.m.
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