[Ansteorra] Re: Ur 1st GW

[Tessa Nieto]

My dear lady Aurore,

Thank you so much for posting! I guess I'll just have
to deal with wet and mildew. :O) Your post really made
me excited and I am looking forward to war. Perhaps
when we get there, I'll look you up! :OD

Have a great day!
Eleanor
--- Aurore Gaudin <Aurore at hot.rr.com> wrote:
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> Ok, ok, I'll tell.  I was going to just tell Tessa,
> but I decide everyone should hear a first-timer's
> story.  GW IX (year 2000) was my first.  At the time
> I was living near Stargate, which was 4 hours closer
> than where I'm living now.  At the time my S.O.
> didn't play in the SCA, so I had a friend come from
> Middleford and get me.  We left Monday night about
> 9pm.  Every major city we hit from my place to the
> GW, we would get slightly lost.  One of the many
> firsts for me was to be crossing the Miss. River and
> being on the East side of the States.  Got pictures
> of it at nighttime.  Got four rolls of film from
> that event, need to get around to developing and
> posting it.  Then the last bit of highway that had
> to be traveled we missed the exit for, so we had to
> go find that.  We got to the gate about 2am and we
> were about the fifty-something car there.  Everyone
> was getting out and finding out where everyone was
> from.  The guys were telling their tall tales of
> battles and conquests, even had a few people
> singing.  We had to stay quiet for the most part
> cause our lines was on the mundane side of the gate
> and we didn't want to disturb the neighbors.  The
> sun came up before it was time to go in, so everyone
> watch it and the little pond beside the road had
> light fog.  It was a beautiful morning.  Then when
> time was to go in there was a mad dashing to cars.
> Everyone and everything was an organized madhouse.
> Hundreds trying to move into their week-long home.
> Lots of helpful people keeping the cattle of people
> going in the right direction.  We found our plot of
> land on the edge of the site where they had just
> finished clearing trees to make more room for the
> growing War.  Had to clean it up a bit before
> putting down tent.  As I was setting up the kitchen
> area, I found I had made a grieve mistake, no
> cooking pot for our meals.  Talk about not checking
> my list twice or even not making one for such a big
> trip.  Luckily there was a town nearby and we got
> directions to go get supplies.  Got the supplies at
> the local grocery store, and then brunch at the
> local Subway.  We came back and our area was left
> alone and untouched.  Finished unloading the dragon
> and then put it to it's stall over in the dragon lot
> (open field parking).  Made note of where the
> nearest portopotty and water faucet were.  We got
> into proper clothes and then went exploring.  Found
> a few friends and made lots more that week.  Spent
> that day bugged eyed and getting whiplash from
> looking at everything and everyone.  That night the
> smells get even better with the camp cooking from
> everywhere.  Not a time to go on a diet.  In the
> quieter sections of the site, children were put to
> bed.  In the noiser sections, the party was just
> getting to rolling.  I never had an empty glass and
> the bottle of rum that I bought for the War was
> never opened that week.  Was late that night when we
> went to bed.  Been up 24 plus hours.  Spent the next
> day exploring some more.  That night, rains came
> early and I didn't feel up to cooking in the rain so
> we had dinner in the main hall.  We sat out on the
> back porch with others talking and smoking.  Went to
> bed late again and got up early in the morning.  My
> friend had to get ready for the revine battle.   It
> was fun getting to sit on the hillside and watch
> arrows fly though the air and hear the clashing of
> swords on shields.  The camp followers that watch,
> got to particapate as some of the archers aimmed
> poorly and almost got us too.  Don't remember which
> side won, just my friend was dragging himself up the
> hill and dieing at my feet.  Letted him rest before
> hulling his gear back to camp.  Should have had a
> wagon to cart it around.  There was much drinking
> that night to wear off the pains of battle and to
> salute the dead and tell tall tales.  Late night to
> bed and early to rise for the mass field battle that
> day.  That one was just pure massacre.  One of the
> young pole jocky got my friend good, camp docs said
> he was fine.  Another night of drinking.  See a
> pattern here?  That night wasn't so much fun.  My
> friend every 20 minutes when he rolled over was
> cussing painfully.  So bright and early the next
> morning, I went down the road to find one of my
> Amazon matrons that I knew my friend greatly
> respected.  You see my friend was going to do the
> fort battle that day and wasn't listening to me.  I
> waited til she got up and explained what was going
> to happen this day if she didn't help me get my
> friend to stay out of the battle.  She went with me
> and we woke him up.  She looked at him and
> proclaimed that she catches him on the field in
> armor there was going to be hell (pardon) to pay
> that day.  I was happy with that.  So we watched
> that one.  Later after he got home and saw the
> doctor, he had a couple of greenline breaks on his
> ribs.  Another good hit and I would be spenting more
> time in Mississippi than I cared for.  Another night
> of drinking, the greatest that week.  And worst
> downpour on top of it.  Sunday morning, we said to
> hell (pardon) with it, we uncermoniously throw
> everything wet in the car and trudge home with smell
> of starting mold and mildew.  My poor landlady
> thought I was adding a new room to my apartment when
> I set up the tent to air out.  Tons of laundry and
> dishes to do too.  The only sad part of the whole
> War was when one of the night's they had to airlift
> a Society member out of the battlefield, only clear
> space to land.  The site was eerily quiet that
> night.  I would not trade anything for a dry week at
> War.  A wet week was more alive with the spirit of
> history and friendship, and somethings that have no
> name to it.  May everyone have Good Season's
> Tidings.  Lift a drink to our old friends gone and
> to the new friends to come.  Aurore
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Tessa Nieto
>   To: Aurore Gaudin
>   Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2001 9:16 AM
>   Subject: Re: Ur 1st GW
>
>
>   Awww...why not? *L*
>
>   I keep hearing stories of rain that never quits,
>   terrible bathrooms, hair that mildews and your
> clothes
>   and tent being underwater. Right now, I'm about
> 50/50
>   whether to go or not. :O) I'm not big on wet.
>
>   What was your first Gulf War like? What were some
> GOOD
>   things that happened? What was the best and worst
>   thing about Gulf War?
>
>   Thanks and have a great Christmas!
>   Eleanor
>   --- Aurore Gaudin <Aurore at hot.rr.com> wrote:
>   > Hi,  I know you don't know me, but I got to
>   > remembering about my first GW from a couple of
> years
>   > ago.  You'll love it.  Don't want to spoil it
> much
>   > more then that.  Aurore
>   >
>
>
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> kettle on which we beat out a tune for a dancing
> bear, when we hope with our music to move the stars.
>   - - - Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary
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=====
The human language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out a tune for a dancing bear, when we hope with our music to move the stars.
- - - Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

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