[Ansteorra] RE: Ansteorre Questions 7/18

[Regina]

Lorraine asked:

  1. What attracted you to the SCA?  I received a flyer about the SCA when I
lived in Calif. in 1979, just before moving to Berlin, Germany in 1980.  I
fell in love with their aspect of  "The Dream".  After being in Berlin for
awhile I met others with  the same interests, even though we
never 'found' the SCA while there, we learned how to make things (armor,
swords etc). We played our "game" for stress release and  with the
restrictions we had on travel and leaving Berlin itself we never took
anything too seriously. In Oct. 1985 , several of us were in the Fort Hood
area and we found Middleford in Copperas Cove, that gave us a chance to play
and boy did we start playing!!!

  2. What is your perspective of what the SCA is to you? The SCA has always
been a place to get away from it all. It also became a place where I would
get the urge to learn something new or pick-up some skill that I had all but
forgotten. It has been many things to me but has never been forgotten.

  3. Where do you invest the most time and energy in   the SCA (household,
local group, kingdom, specific activity) Right now most of my time is spent
out the fringes of "groups" and what I glean from the internet. Middleford
was my first home and I played there for several years. Loch Rayburn &
Rosenfeld are just a few of the places my work took me too.

  4. How long before you started to take initiative in the SCA   (applying
for an office, organizing an activity, etc.?) I started in 1996 Jan or Feb.
helping with offices, donating money, food, people, etc. to events etc. I've
been a Herald (my first love), chirurgeon, historian, hospitaler, marshall,
autocrat, feastocrat (Moustache war - the cow on the open spit- and many
other good fires!) and a fund raiser for the kingdom.

  5. Were there instances that could have "run you out of the   SCA"..why
did
they not...or why did you come back?   Many, many times I could have been
run out from early on but our little group was having too much fun. I had
felt like quitting many times because of what some said and did especially
after my right hand was broken during fighter practice. I was at a event
(1987) where someone sold every bit of food, drink, and money from my tent
(thanks to other SCAer's we returned home without any problem). Later on
there were times when I became frustrated because of family members, work, &
stress that made me want to quit, but every time someone or something would
change my mind, it could be looking across a list field and seeing a
honorable deed being done, a mist rising in the woods, the smell of a warm
fire,and then the Outland Wars, Gulf Wars, Pennsic, Steppes Warlords, more
wars! wars! oops..sorry about that! and I can't forget Tempio (my wedding -
it will be 9 years this Oct.) and many other events I have not forgotten.
Ansteorre has given me many reasons to leave and many to stay, no matter
what, there has always been someone or something to give the feeling that I
can always call Ansteorre home! Even though my life has changed over the
past 18 plus years I still love the SCA and I will probably play until
permanent retirement. I just started back at AAA (what a great time we had
and oh! the fireworks) now we will see what comes next.

  6. How long before you burned out? Why did you burn out?   Is there
anything anyone could have done to help keep you from   "burning out"? I
started burning out after an injury in 1991 and when my son disappeared
around that same time it added to my stress. Then in 1993 (Queen) I wasn't
prepared, recent injury, teenagers, didn't know better, didn't have a good
support group and poor and/or bad advice. Many things seemed to have changed
since that era. I learned a lot since then, grown up a little (not too
much), no bad feelings, no remorse, a lot of Great Memories and my armor
still fits!!

  7. What do you get out of the SCA?  Peace of mind when I think about "The
Dream" and the what ifs...we all dream of.  I am planning on doing a lot
more as soon as my husband gets out of school this coming May.

  8. If you have your AoA...how long did you get it after starting   to
participate in the SCA? I think in 1986.

  9. Why do you think that people should join the
SCA and stay in it?  It is a way to relieve the everyday stress of life, a
place to met all kinds of people, learn all sorts of crafts, get ideas and
try new things without it costing you a weeks pay!

Countess Regina