So yesterday my sister and I went on a bit of an adventure.
As she needed to pick up some props from a gentleman living in our city for a project she's currently working on.
Needless to say we weren't quite sure what to expect.
Because neither of us knew this gentleman only that he was like the parent of one of my sister's coworker's or something.
In any case.
I think both of us had only expected to take like 15 minutes there. Basically show up, say hi, politely ask for the props, thank the gentleman and leave.
That's not what happened.
lol
So we pull up to this normal looking house. Single story, maybe has a basement.
Well mostly normal. It was one of those houses that had a screened in front porch with plants in it...so we weren't sure if we were supposed to go in that way or in the side door in the open air garage.
We chose the garage.
-You never know what sort of plants could have been lurking on the other path. They may have tried to eat us for all we knew. ;)
So we rang the doorbell, and was met at the door by a woman.
Which...we were both expecting the gentleman....
So seeing a woman we were both like. O.O Are we at the right house?!
After asking if he was there, the woman confirmed that he was in fact there, and went to go get him.
Leaving us standing awkwardly in the kitchen, staring at all the random post-it notes all over everything labeling the table as table, wall as wall, floor as floor, etc.
And the women comes back to lead us into the basement where the gentleman was apparently waiting with the props we needed.
So we went down one flight of stairs.
Then another.
THEN ANOTHER!
()_() Which is just...whoa....like looking at the house you wouldn't expect there to be two extra levels UNDERNEATH. A whole hidden house, that you wouldn't think any different from it's neighbors.
But no.
This place was like a bunker!
Because we went down a FOURTH flight of stairs before we finally reached the concrete basement where the gentleman was waiting.
And this room was huge.
Tall, covered in wood, weapons, books, files, pictures, random article clothing...
Because this gentleman was not only a photographer himself, but he enjoys doing reenactments, creating things, and basically making sure everything is period correct.
As you see, Kikay was needing to borrow a rifle for the project as the group was wanting their project to be as authentic as possible for this photoshoot thingy they're going to be doing.
Glancing about this room, I got the feeling that we weren't going to be leaving anytime soon.
Especially when the gentleman was like "Did you get the email I sent?"
And Kikay was like "What email?" (it was sent to someone else)
I'm pretty sure the email probably had a list of instructions or whatever.
But hearing that question, and hearing Kikay's response....
I knew we weren't going to be leaving any time soon.
lol.
I was right.
We spent the next hour learning from this gentleman.
History of clothing worn, how reenanctments work, what 'part' of history are you trying to portray (before battle, during battle, after battle) as well as the names of the different parts of the rifle and the leathers, and the uniforms and everything.
And the man is a stickler for perfection.
Knowing that it was for a photoshoot he was full of suggestions on how to make things look more realistic and what details would be history accurate and which ones wouldn't be.
lol part of that perfection was actually teaching Kikay how to shoot this Flintlock Rifle.
Which involves gunpowder, and getting the cock in the right position, and having the right grip when you pull the trigger.
-Don't worry, no bullets were used. It was just the powder pan that was filled, the rifle wasn't loaded. So we were creating fire and smoke and sparks but nothing else.
It was kinda crazy to watch and see.
And then...the gentleman turned to me to have me shoot the rifle as well.
Now before this point....I'd really only come along as support. To make sure nothing went wrong. I'm not involved in the project at all.
And while I was enjoying watching and learning about history and such.
-Getting strong flashbacks of Rendezvous and the shoots they would do their and the gun powder candy cannon.
I hadn't intended to do more than just stand there.
Especially because I'm a lefty.
And this flintlock gun was not meant for lefties.
Yet somehow I found myself holding the rifle in my hands.
Which again since I'm a lefty, the hold was awkward using my right hand instead of my left.
But I held this rifle with confidence -having watched both the gentleman and my sister hold and fire this weapon.
And since it's a flint based firing system....the gunpowder doesn't always ignite on the first strike, so you have to reset it two or three times to get a nice flash of fire and smoke.
But when I pulled the trigger...
Flash of Fire and Smoke!
lol. to say it surprised me is an understatement as I hadn't been expecting it to work on the first try.
But it did.
And it was definitely an interesting experience to be sure.
The whole thing was an experience lol.
Being in this bunker like basement, filled with old things, learning about history.
It was amazing to hear the stories to hear the facts.
It does feel kinda surreal though.
Like did I actually go do that?
Or was it a crazy dream?
Because really...it was a different sort of experience.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
No comments:
Post a Comment