<DIV>Thanks for the fascinating reading. I am really enjoying these responses, but I have to ask if you are sending them to Mistress Lorraine as well as to this list. (Tessa's post requested that we send our replies to Lorraine, I do not believe that she is a member of this list.) I just want to make certain that Lorraine is able to include these wonderful memories and viewpoints in her research.</DIV>
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<DIV>Cindi<BR><BR><B><I>Lou Burgin <lburgin@gt.rr.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">(Q)1. What attracted you to the SCA?<BR>(A) My brother Iain was already a member so I had heard of it, but then I<BR>saw Simonn and Tessa in the audience of a production of Macbeth at Lamar (in<BR>garb)so I went to check it out.<BR><BR>(Q)2. What is your perspective of what the SCA is to you?<BR>(A) On the surface, the SCA is a hobby, fun, enjoyable past time, but<BR>deeper it is a family who shares values that I think are important. Honor,<BR>courtesy, responsibility for ones actions are values that are dwindling in<BR>the outside world. Like Simonn and Tessa, I like that it provides a<BR>saturation teaching of these values to our children. When at events, these<BR>behaviors are common and the norm, they become comfortable to our children<BR>and they can take that confidence into the wider word.<BR><BR>(Q)3. Where do you invest the most time and energy in the SCA (household,<BR>local
group, kingdom, specific activity)?<BR>(A) Because of present physical and financial constraints, mostly local and<BR>household (Bladesong). I hope that will be changing in the near future.<BR><BR>(Q)4. How long before you started to take initiative in the SCA (applying<BR>for an office, organizing an activity, etc.?)<BR>(A) Within the first year. I was MOAS, locally, learned to run a list<BR>right away, and was lady in waiting for Tessa on numerous occaisions.<BR><BR>(Q)5. Were there instances that could have "run you out of the SCA"..why did<BR>they not...or why did you come back?<BR>(A) It almost happened, hurt feelings, loss of faith in people. I refused<BR>to leave with my reputation mistakenly tarnished, so I stayed and remained<BR>who I had always been until people saw the mistake. It was hard, but made<BR>bearable with the support of my SCA family.<BR><BR>(Q)6. How long before you burned out? Why did you burn out? Is there<BR>anything<BR>anyone could have done to help keep
you from "burning out"?<BR>(A) About 14 years. I will not discuss it, it should be erased from SCA<BR>memory. That is a double edged sword. That which attracts us is the<BR>idealistic recreation of a "better" time, but that idealism can give us a<BR>skewed view of the people in the SCA also. Perhaps we need to remember that<BR>it is a hobby, and people are people who are flawed and make mistakes.<BR>Holding them to an unrealistic standard because of what they where on their<BR>head or around their waist is asking for disappointment when they revel<BR>their humanity.<BR><BR>(Q)7. What do you get out of the SCA?<BR>(A) One gets from something in direct proportion to what one puts into<BR>it. I left the first sentence because I agree with it. Foremost I get a<BR>sense of belonging and rightness. The exposure to history and cultures is<BR>by all means enjoyable, but I fell it is the window dressing. What keeps me<BR>coming back is the feeling of belonging to something great in it's
basic<BR>form. This is re-enforced when there is a tragedy and the people of this<BR>group give of themselves to someone that they may have never met, because<BR>they are a member of this "community". But the tragedy only shines a<BR>spotlight, the giving and sense of oneness is the constant that keeps us<BR>here.<BR><BR>(Q)8. If you have your AoA...how long did you get it after starting to<BR>participate in the SCA?<BR>(A) About 18 months.<BR><BR>(Q) and last but not least...why do you think that people should join the<BR>SCA<BR>and stay in it?<BR>(A) One of the reasons I am for not pressing for membership money right<BR>away, is because I think a person should be able to see if the SCA suits<BR>them. It is not for everyone. And everyone gets something different out of<BR>it. From the "Authenticity Purists" to the "Just here for the beer" crowd,<BR>ther is room for everyone within reason. I think it reflects well on the<BR>tolerance of SCA people as a whole that there is such a
wide acceptance.<BR>For myself, my children are self confident, honest, honorable, giving,<BR>respectful, with a very keen sense of right and wrong and the courage to<BR>speak up against wrong when they see it. All of these attributes I connect<BR>directly to the influence of the SCA. Perhaps they would have been just the<BR>same with out it, the world will never know.<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Bordermarch mailing list<BR>Bordermarch@ansteorra.org<BR>http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/bordermarch<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="comic sans ms" color=#40007f>Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world <BR>Albert Einstein</FONT></DIV></DIV>