ANST - A questionnare.

[Mitchell, Paul T]

Galen of Bristol here!

What the hey, I'll take turn!

How did you first get started in the SCA and how old were you?

I was a 16-year old high school student in Memphis, TN,
attending my first science fiction convention, the "Just Imagicon"
at the Holiday Inn Riverside.  The SCA was there doing a demo.
I met new friends, saw wonderful things (such as a tapestry
in the style of the Bayeaux Tapestry telling the history of
Meridies), and of course, fighting.  Duke John the Bearkiller
(then on his 2nd reign as King) was there with his squires,
and other fighters.  (One of those others was now-Duke Kane
Redfeather.  Another was now-Master Loren Blackthorne.)
I said "this is for me!"  I went home and told my sister,
"you've got to come to this con, and see this group
I found!"  We were at the baronial meeting the following
Wednesday.  It was late May, 1979.  I'll be 35 tomorrow,
having spent over half my life in the SCA, over 13 years as
a noble, and nearly 10 years as a knight.

What make you stay?

The people.  At first it was the sort of acceptance that a
16-year-old drama geek isn't accustomed to.  Today it's
the sort of respect that few people in the mundane
world get to experience.  Nearly all my best friends are
in the SCA; the only real exceptions have been friends
made in college, only during the last couple years.

What did you do to develop your personna and why did you choose it/them?

I chose late 12th Century after seeing _The Lion in Winter_.  Since
then I've done some reading, but a person seriously into research
and persona development does more research in their first month
than I've done in all these years.  Much more importantly, I've tried
to use the SCA as a character-building exercise, rather than just
persona development.  But I'm not telling where the name "Galen
of Bristol" comes from.

 - Galen
pmitchel at flash.net
paul.t.mitchell at lmco.com
http://www.flash.net/~pmitchel/galen.htm  
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