How Do I Know When to Die?

I've been doing this reenactment thing for about a year now, and when I first started, I once asked Bruce "How do you know when to die?" He just laughed and said "Well, there are lots of ways. Say, for instance, your gun stops working, or you get hit by a cannon blast." (Which did happen in my first event at Fort 4) Then Bruce said "To be honest with you Kris, some of these events are hours away and who wants to drive 8 hours to just lay down and play dead?" I laughed and thought that makes sense.

On another occasion I asked Janie how did she know when to die? She looked at me with a very serious look and said shaking her head "Janie doesn't die."

I, on the other hand, love to die. I have now died at some of the finest battlefields, the 2007 reenactment season had to offer. I think that it's a lot of fun for the crowd to watch someone get hit in the heat of battle. But then again, it wouldn't be so much fun for the crowd if we all died, so it's probably a good thing that many of the other reenactors don't enjoy dying as much as I do. I made it my mission last year to die in as many reenactments as I could, and I was able to die at almost all the events. There was one exception at Fort Ticonderoga, where the battle was called on account of heat stroke before I had the chance to die.

As for the 2008 reenactment year, well now that I have my regimental jacket to try and keep clean, I may rethink the dying thing, I may just change my ways. I may ... but then again, maybe not.

Very respectful,
Kris