Tom and I are working again after the government shutdown.  We never imagined the shutdown would last so long.  We started the day after the shutdown ended.  Many visitors have told us how glad they are to have us back and how they waited to come until the Visitors Center was open and the rangers back.  We appreciate their kind words.

The government shutdown was a stupid thing that should never have happened.  Being able to make a budget and stick to should be a priority of good government.  Deciding at the last minute to close down the government in order to get a pet project done is not good government.  Why not push it during the previous two years?  Why is it suddenly so important now?  But whether I agree with building a wall or not, holding government workers hostage to partisan demands is unconscionable.

I am glad the Air Traffic Controller decided to do something about the shutdown or we might never be working again.  It was discouraging to see how little impact letting go of all the other government workers had on the nation.   Until individuals are inconvenienced, they seem willing to let all kinds of actions slide.  But enough ranting – as least as long as the government doesn’t shut down again.

Tom and I are very glad to be working again.  We worked last Sunday and Monday and will return to our regular schedule here at Fort Frederica National Monument on Thursday.  We will be working Thursday through Sunday every week.

This is the same schedule as last year but things will be different.  For one thing, we are the only living history volunteers.  Last year we had four couples who all did living history.  On Saturdays and Sundays we had a village of people all demonstrating various areas of colonial life.  This year it will be more like the first year we worked here.  If there is any living history going on – it will be us.

Consequently we won’t be able to specialize as much as we did last year.  I will have to spend more time cooking over the campfire and Tom will have to be a soldier and settler more than a blacksmith.  Setting everything up with just the two of us is hard work and we are pretty tired at the end of the day.

But we still love what we are doing.  Living history makes history come alive for our visitors and Tom and I love teaching people how the colonists lived.  We are glad to be working again and glad to be back at Fort Frederica National Monument and St. Simons Island.