[Ansteorra] I have a question

[Richard Threlkeld]

My sons saw a fighter practice in the local park and drug my (now ex) wife
to the park with them. They were captivated and my wife decided it was a
thing for her to share with the kids who were 11 and 14 I think. A year
later we were divorced and I had the kids. And they still wanted to go to
the park to watch and play. So I started going. And I was captivated. The
boys eventually got frustrated they could not fight (they were black belt
level in martial arts) and went on to other things. I stayed.

I've stayed because of the feeling of family, the many wonderful and complex
things I can do in the SCA, and the moments of magic.

My first event was a Yule Revel. Duchess Willow found the coin in a cake and
became the King of Misrule (yes she insisted on being the King). Duke
Jonathan refused to be the Queen of Misrule, so she interviewed all of the
guys and chose me as Queen. We then chose an heir. It was great fun. The
next work day I was walking down the hall at my large client and saw my
"heir". I said "Hi son". He said "Hi Mom". We got many looks and we kept
this up for years.

I had not played very seriously in my local Barony, but I was asked to go to
a local event, "Baronial Passage of Arms", where they were to choose the
next Baronial Guard. I watched and did some archery. It was very cold and we
had a fire in the open picnic area. The B&B (Elfsea - Llwelyn and Xene) set
up their thrones so the populace had the fire next to them. Then the Baron
called each person who had fought that day into court. He told them what
they had done that was wonderful or an improvement over the past. Each of
them was smiling from ear to ear. I wanted to be part of a group that cared
about their people that much and worked that hard to make them feel good
about themselves. A magic moment.

In service,
Caelin on Andrede