Civil War reenactment battles to watch or join

by Jamie Rhein on

I heard that this weekend there are Civil War reenactors on the state house lawn in Columbus. This reminded me of my two friends who have dabbled in Civil War reenacting. Each dress up in period soldier attire– one is in Confederate gray and the other is Union blue. As reenactors, they meet up other reenactors to act out a particular slice of history. There are rules involved for how reenactments are done.

It’s not a matter of running around on a field any which way, but following the patterns and paths of what actually happened during particular battles during the Civil War. Clothing reenactors wear are to fit the time period and reenactors are often not supposed to take pictures. One of my friends said that he took a few pictures once when he was “killed” and down on the ground, but he had to be quick so people wouldn’t notice.

The Web site Civil War Reenactment HQ lists several reenactment events and locations. Many reenactments include Civil War campsites and interpretive talks geared for various ages, parades and food.

Author J. Patrick Lewis, Richmond, Kentucky and a cardinal

by Jamie Rhein on

Friday, when J. Patrick Lewis, a children’s book writer was signing copies of Earth and Me at a writers conference I was attending in Dublin, Ohio, he mentioned that his mother was coming up for a visit for Mother’s Day. I asked where she lives.

“Richmond, Kentucky,” he said, as if I perhaps I wouldn’t know the place.

“I was born there,” I said. I left Richmond in the front seat of a U-Haul moving van sitting next to at an age when I still can remember the trip. My mom followed us in our car with my brother.

As J. Patrick Lewis and I talked, it became clear that perhaps our paths crossed when I was a child. I think he visited my elementary school.

I certainly didn’t expect J. Patrick Lewis to be connected to my elementary school at the time I would have attended, back when I was in 2nd grade. Talking with him flashed me to the time I was happy to fasten a beak to my face with elastic so it covered my nose. I wore a red dress for a classroom play and said the lines, “I am a cardinal. I stay here for the winter.” The cardinal is the state bird of Kentucky.

Years ago, when I was on a ferry between France and Ireland, I saw a woman wearing a Penn State sweatshirt. When I left Kentucky in that moving van we headed to State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State became part of my history. The woman on the ferry turned out to be connected to my history as well. During our conversation, I found out that her brother was the cutest boy in my 4th grade class.

One of the things I enjoy about traveling is that chance encounter with someone that helps make life feel as if it’s going in some logical direction–those people that connect the dots for us. Although, I have been in State College fairly recently, I haven’t been to Richmond for years. J. Patrick Lewis has. He still drives past the school where I once was a bird. I’m glad to know it still exists. Perhaps, some 2nd grader is slipping on a beak.

Jenna Bush on a mug: Wedding souvenirs

by Jamie Rhein on

As wedding bells are ringing for Jenna Bush, so are some cash registers in Crawford, Texas shops. Jenna, President Bush’s daughter is getting married today in Crawford. Knowing a business opportunity when they see one, some proprietors, in the tradition of commemorating occasions with kitch, are selling mugs with Jenna and hubby’s mug on them. Last month, Pope Benedict XVI made it to gift shop shelves in various forms because of his U.S. visit.

If you have enough mugs, you can also get Jenna and Henry key chains, buttons, refrigerator magnets and trays. I haven’t heard about bobble heads, though.

Sometime this year, I wonder if there will be an influx of Pope Benedict XVI and Jenna Bush memorabilia at stores like Big Lots? Or maybe they’ll be at a flea market sometime this summer. Maybe there will be an incentive at coffee shops like buy a mug and get free coffee refills. What do people do with unsold merchandise like this one? On Christmas morning, or during a birthday party, will someone open a gift and say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!”?

Actually, if anyone is looking for a funky coffee bar theme, why not buy up unsold memorabilia type mugs and use them? Sort of like those breakfast places that use old Howard Johnson plates.

French trains go for British baguettes

by Anna Brones on

In a country so proud of its culinary heritage, it’s hard to imagine any foreign versions of local specialties ever being sold. I’m talking about France, the country where the capital city organizes the Baguette Grand Prix, just to determine which boulangerie makes the best one (it even makes the French national news). Surprisingly enough, even in a place with such high bread expectations, somehow British baguettes managed to make their way onto the trains of the French railway.

The Guardian reports that Fosters of Barnsley, a Yorkshire bakery, has started exporting truck loads of baguettes across the Channel to be sold on trains. The move has made baker John Foster deemed the “most hated man in France,” according to French media.

With a well-known background of Franco-Anglo tension regarding food, the fact that British baguettes are being sold to French railway passengers is rather humorous. Maybe Sarkozy will see it as an attack on his country’s culinary heritage, or maybe the French will just start exporting fish and chips.

Bring mom to flowers for Mother’s Day

by Jamie Rhein on

Several botanical gardens are having Mother’s Day events this Sunday. One of the advantages of going to a botanical garden, I’ve found, is that they usually have wonderful gift shops that are perfect places for picking up that last minute present.

If you’ve forgotten to buy your mother a gift, when she’s not looking, perhaps, when she’s basking in the fragrance of a floral paradise, slip into the shop to buy her a little something. Since the wedding season is upon us, pick up a wedding gift as well. Here are the first 10 botanical gardens I came across that listed a Mother’s Day happening. Nine are in the U.S. and one is not.

(This photo is from a tribute to redbuds and mothers at the Children’s Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. My mom taught me to love redbuds too, so I thought this fitting.)

  1. Botanical Conservatory, Ft. Wayne, Indiana: Free admission and enjoy the butterflies besides.
  2. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine: Free admission to moms and there’s a special brunch. While your mom is eating, slip out to buy that gift.
  3. Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Cleveland, Ohio: Like the Web site says, the redbuds are in bloom and they’re gorgeous
  4. Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, Belmont, North Carolina: Moms get in free with a paid admission and the first 250 moms get a potted plant.
  5. Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver, Colorado: The Mother’s Day brunch is sold out but you can bring your own picnic.
  6. Fernwood Botanical Gardens, Niles, Michigan: Enjoy music, food and a plant sale.
  7. Huntsville Botanical Gardens, Huntsville, Alabama: Moms can get a hydrangea, as long as they are available. There’s a dinosaur theme going on, but this has nothing to do with your mother.
  8. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia: Free family photo for moms while supplies last and free plants to the first 500 moms who come.
  9. Tuscon Botanical Gardens, Tuscon, Arizona: Mom might like to learn about the dinosaurs here as well.
  10. And one not in the United States: Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. If you took your mother to Australia for brunch, would she be impressed.

If you take your mother somewhere else on Sunday–or if you are a mom–ask for a discount. I got into a museum for free in Lugang, Taiwan once on Mother’s Day because I could claim motherhood. The museum gave me a rose as well. The one catch is, I think you probably need to have your child with you.