Williamsburg...not just for History Snobs

History is boring.  It’s only good for the people who like to control conversations with their monotonous recitation of dates and events.  The pompous bores remain unchallenged due to regular people not knowing enough to challenge these untouchable encyclopedias.

After visiting Williamsburg, Virginia a few weeks back I have to confess to a sincere desire to become one of these exclusive individuals.  It’s not that I want to monopolize conversations, but I do think learning more about our country’s start would be valuable.

In the colonial southeastern Virginia town history reenactors turned a bunch of old buildings and tacky gift shops into a time machine.  Camera-wearing tourists, most with children in tow, witnessed George Washington’s speech to the people of Manhattan fist-hand as well as his entry into Williamsburg after Benedict Arnold paved the way for the British Soldiers to take over the town.  The two presentations were geographically separated enough to easily enable heat-weary tourists to feel part of both actions although, in reality, they were a long time ago and several hundred miles apart.

 In these presentations, as in all of the activities in the town, audience interaction was encouraged.  When Arnold made his entrance into town to give his sales speech to the citizenry, he failed to convince not only reenactors, who challenged his loyalty, but the contemporary crowed of visitors heckled him as well.  I confess, I called him a “Lobster Back.”

I’m not sure if it had anything to do with the day being Sunday, but there was a church meeting held by a very influential African American reenactor who played a freed slave.  He also invited the audience to ask questions.

Not once did any of the reenactors slip out of their characters or misstep on a timeline in answering a question, or speaking to the modern-day guests –not that I could tell anyway.  If someone asked a question about an event that was past the time, they would get a response something along the line of, “What is this event you speak of?  I know nothing of what you speak.”

It’s easy to see that I can’t wait to return to the area to experience more of the living history. Before I return, however, I’m going to read up on Colonial History. I would like to be able to heckle Lobster Backs with some accuracy.  And, in all honesty, it might be fun to heckle some history snobs as well.