ANST - Tied to the pole- feet to the flame

[LordVoldai at aol.com]

well it's time for my two cents worth on this one (lol)

my mundane profession is dance instruction.  i compete professionally in CW 
dancing and teach both that and ballroom.  i see many parallels between the 
dance communities and this discussion on peerages.

first off, the persons doing the adjudicating today (in ballroom and cw) 
never did half of the stuff that they are seeing on the competitive floor 
now.  they won their championships 5 or more years ago and the art has 
progressed in that time.  that does not mean that they are unfamiliar with 
the techniques involved or that they could not give a demonstration of said 
techniques for the purpose of instruction (see point 2 below).  it simply 
means that, in a very physical competition, a 35yo has a distinct 
disadvantage against an 18yo.  (the 18yo's bones haven't completely ossified 
yet!!!! lol )  so it is with the peers, older knights (eventually) lose 
stamina and thru nothing more than the natural aging process, fine needle 
work or detailed scrimshaw (sp.) becomes increasingly difficult when you have 
to make a trip to walgreens to get the next higher magnification on your 
reading glasses, and, if you have ever autocrated an event, i'm sure that you 
will agree that physical stamina in a major factor there as well.  

second, the above dancing adjudicators are sought out because of their 
knowledge (sometimes as well as their influence, yes there's politics there 
too) just because they can't do a grande jeté doesn't mean that they can't 
teach you to do it! learning from experience is what separates us from lower 
mammals! 

third, (leaving modern dancing out of it) peerages are given for more than a 
particular skill or proficiency.  they are given for an attitude that goes 
with that skill.  in ansteorra, when a person is elevated, not only does the 
admitting circle speak for the candidate but the other peerages do as well as 
the lions and the order of the rose.  this speaks to more than skill at arms 
or on a loom or with financial records.  to me it speaks to a certain grace 
of manner.  in this degree there is no difference between the circles and 
looks not to skill with a pen or with a sword but a skill of the spirit and 
the heart.  to me that is the true requisite of a peer of the realm of 
Ansteorra.

in service
Volodislav ludozertzça z Karpat
mka chad graber

p.s.  see subsequent post for more of rant on a different subject.  it's late 
and my mind wanders (scary thought)
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.