Fame

What knight doesn’t dream of stories of his deeds travelling far and wide? What pirate doesn’t smile at the thought of his infamy?
Whether we seek it or not fame sometimes casts its spotlight on reenactors and travels with us.

I was with my pirate group at the Lazy Days of Summer in Levittown and people were coming up to us saying they saw us at the Pirate Festival in Sayville. Someone said they have as their Facebook profile picture a photo of them with us.

In today’s instantaneous society fame comes fast as people tweet, instagram, pin it, email, and post to Facebook pictures of themselves with pirates, knights, soldiers, etc. as soon as you hear the click.

Reenactors, of course, lengthen our15 minutes by having our own website, Twitter account and Facebook page and by being very obliging when it comes to talking to the press.

There is fleeting fame, then there is everlasting fame. A few years ago I appeared with my pirate group on an episode of Man vs. Food. I emailed a co-worker on a work related issue and she ends our conversation with “I saw you on TV”. Apparently that episode is still being shown. Too bad I don’t get residuals.

So far fame has not been too hard to handle. I’m not besieged by fans when I go out to eat or go shopping. On the other hand, I’m not getting the preferential treatment either.

As I wait for my infamy to grow I’ll shop around for a good pair of sunglasses.