Infiltration of the brain ...
...it happened when I was sleeping. It was one of those events where, upon review, you can't believe it happened to you. This incredulity may or may not be a good thing.
You see, I had a dream.
I was in a place that looked like a museum. There were glass windows in walls with miniature pastoral scenes behind them. I think this particular wing was dedicated to military history. I passed something ancient Roman and I'm pretty sure I remember Napoleon. Behind one of these windows was a young man (?) setting up little miniature soldiers. He didn't have many in place and he was working on, basically, a cement slab. The cement slab might have been painted with those rings that indicate topography on a flat surface. Based merely on the placement of the soldiers (an inverted comma, but he only had the ends in place), I said, "Oh, that's Gettysburg!" He and whoever was with me both gave me funny looks, because out of all the history of warfare, I guessed right based on the merest sketch of a battleline.
The thing is, is that explaining it in my dream proved that I actually know a lot more about Gettysburg than I give myself credit for. Granted, I don't remember exactly what I said in my dream, so I don't know if it was factual or not. I do remember thinking that the extreme right of the comma was where O. Otis Howard and the XI Corps were, and then Hancock came in and took control, on direct orders from Reynolds, the Division commander, and usurping Howard's authority. And on the extreme left the 20th Maine was bunkering down, getting ready for their action later that afternoon.
It was like that dream I had a few years ago where I dreamed I was THERE and watched Dick Garnett ride on a suicide mission into battle and I was able to accurately pinpoint the exact spot on the field, in my dream.
My nerdiness knows no bounds. One of the managers at work - his wife had a baby. They named it Jackson Andrew Mapleton. The first thing I said, upon hearing his name was, "Not to be confused with Andrew Jackson!" And one of my coworkers replied with, "You're such a nerd!"
You see, I had a dream.
I was in a place that looked like a museum. There were glass windows in walls with miniature pastoral scenes behind them. I think this particular wing was dedicated to military history. I passed something ancient Roman and I'm pretty sure I remember Napoleon. Behind one of these windows was a young man (?) setting up little miniature soldiers. He didn't have many in place and he was working on, basically, a cement slab. The cement slab might have been painted with those rings that indicate topography on a flat surface. Based merely on the placement of the soldiers (an inverted comma, but he only had the ends in place), I said, "Oh, that's Gettysburg!" He and whoever was with me both gave me funny looks, because out of all the history of warfare, I guessed right based on the merest sketch of a battleline.
The thing is, is that explaining it in my dream proved that I actually know a lot more about Gettysburg than I give myself credit for. Granted, I don't remember exactly what I said in my dream, so I don't know if it was factual or not. I do remember thinking that the extreme right of the comma was where O. Otis Howard and the XI Corps were, and then Hancock came in and took control, on direct orders from Reynolds, the Division commander, and usurping Howard's authority. And on the extreme left the 20th Maine was bunkering down, getting ready for their action later that afternoon.
It was like that dream I had a few years ago where I dreamed I was THERE and watched Dick Garnett ride on a suicide mission into battle and I was able to accurately pinpoint the exact spot on the field, in my dream.
My nerdiness knows no bounds. One of the managers at work - his wife had a baby. They named it Jackson Andrew Mapleton. The first thing I said, upon hearing his name was, "Not to be confused with Andrew Jackson!" And one of my coworkers replied with, "You're such a nerd!"