Greeting Ladies from Duchess Willow de Wisp<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Many years ago when we were still under Atenveldt I was at a tourney and I noticed that the young men were not giving courtesies or attending the ladies, I went up to the Old Aten Knight that was the highest ranking gentleman there and gently fussed. The Old Aten Knight didn't say a word. He just took me to the center of the list field and turned me to where the ladies were sitting. As I looked I was horrified. There were ladies slouched over in their mundane lawn chairs, smoking cigarettes and drinking out of coke cans. There was trash everywhere. The ladies were dressed in thrown together clothes. Their faces were red and their hair unkempt. The knight looked at me and said, "It is hard to do courtesies to this". The Old Knight went back to the fighters and reminded them of their duties. I could not fault them on their behavior from there on. 
On that day I learned that my Knight in shining armor has a dream and we our gentlemen’s dream. I have tried since that day to live up to that duty. On that day so long ago I left the Knight and talked to the Ladies. Most of them had been so busy with their Lords and families that they didn't have the time to take care of themselves. We talked about the problem and for a long time Ladies in Ansteorra realized that it is up to us to set the standards. We need to worry about how we look and act. Are we living the Dream and making the magic or are we turning Ansteorra into cocktail party were we wear funny clothes and talk about school, work, car and computers? 
 A Lady of Ansteorra
Duchess Willow de Wisp