[Elfsea] Galen on the park debate

Rhonda New rbnew at ftw.nrcs.usda.gov
Mon Nov 26 15:39:52 PST 2001


Baron,
I call both the Barony of Elfsea and Loch Ruadh home,
and and am proud to call you and your lovely wife my
Baron and Baroness.  I thank you for your call to unity
and respect among the members of the Barony.

However, I am sad to say that it grieves me that member(s)
of your household have greatly offended the populace of
Loch Ruadh. Yes, Loch Ruadh has their own practice - only
once a month so that we may support the Elfsea practices.
And, our practices are on Saturday, so as not to interfere with
Elfsea practices. For the practices I have attended, I do not
recall the presence of any Elfsea fighters - especially the person
who offended the Loch Ruadh populace.

There are some lovely parks in the south and west areas of
Fort Worth but we have kept quiet because we realize it is
a great distance for some to travel. But, because we ARE
from Fort Worth, we also know which parks are desirable
and which parks are not. The parks on which Xene and
Donnel have brought to attention should be considered as
undesirable. Yes, they may be beautiful, but they are in all
black, high-crime, areas where there are drive-by shootings
and gang activity--check it out. The person who offended
Loch Ruadh would NOT like it at all and, I'm sure, would
be the first to say, "I'll not go to fighter practice if it's at X!"

I have not seen the crime statistics for Trinity Park.  But,
personally, I feel as safe there as I do in the small park a
block from my home or the larger park 1/4 mile away.

Perhaps, instead of postponing a vote/selection of practice site,
the Barony could agree to try a few practices at several parks,
such as Trinity, Veterans, etc.  Not everyone will be happy with
whatever decision is made but, perhaps if we "test drive" each
area it will do much to let us see things from a different view.

Thank you for your time and commitment to unify the Barony.

/Lady Elizabeth Hawkwood


Paul or Galen wrote:
Galen here...

>
> I'm torn.
>
> I don't have a strong opinion about where to hold fighter practice.  I'd
> go much farther than I presently do, and I'd cheerfully attend practice
> closer to home (BTW, I travel an hour and a half some days to get to the
> practice at my house on Tuesdays.  I work in Carrollton until 6:00 pm,
> so I'm often the last one there and in armor).
>
> A lot of people do have strong opinions.  No surprise there.
>
> What with all the new information coming to light just today, I'm
> tempted to postpone the decision until the January Moot, to give more of
> us time to visit more parks and evaluate what's being said.
>
> On the other hand, I'm not sure the barony can survive carrying on this
> conversation that much longer.  I'm left with the impression that quite
> a few of my officers, advisors and friends don't hold each others'
> opinions in the high esteem that I hold them all.  I have seen offense
> taken where none was intended, and the convenience of some members of
> the barony -- those who live both farthest east and farthest west --
> discounted by other members of the barony.
>
> Let me share with you some of the philosophy I bring to the table:
> I've been in the SCA for 22 1/2 years.  The heralds tell me that I have
> received more honors from the SCA and its branches than any other person
> in the kingdom.  The greatest of these honors, in my opinion, is the
> title of Baron of Elfsea.  Far more people had a voice in that honor
> than in any other, and those whose voices were heard in my appointment
> had a very real stake in the selection.
>
> I am YOUR baron; if you choose to acknowledge me.
>
> I am the baron of every person who claims me.  I am baron to anyone who
> says to me, "you're my baron".  Elfsea, as we all know, isn't an area of
> land; it's a group of people.  Seneschals may define those people in
> terms of zip codes; I define them in terms of who says to me, "you're my
> baron".  No matter where they live.  The folk of Loch Ruadh, Dragonsfire
> Tor, Three Bridges, and even those who claim me as their baron but
> technically live in the Steppes, Glaslyn, Lindenwoord or Trimaris, are
> no less folk of Elfsea, to my mind, than anyone who lives in south
> Arlington or east Fort Worth.  To me, the people of Elfsea are the
> people who claim the Baron and Baroness of Elfsea, regardless of actual
> residence, or other loyalty.  (And for anyone who'd prefer that
> Allessandra and I weren't their baron & baroness, there's another
> baron & baroness down the road with a similarly welcoming attitude.)
>
> It pains me to see some who perceive that they're not viewed as full
> members of the barony.  We must not allow ourselves to be made to feel
> that way, and we must take care not to say or write things that might
> make people feel that way.
>
> Another issue that's come up is one dear to my heart -- archery.  We've
> never had archery practice at the same location as our fighter
> practice.  Suddenly, with the prospect of moving, many of us would like
> to see the two practices co-located.  That adds a whole new dimension to
> the problem.  I hope our active archers will understand if we're not
> able to find a suitable place to do both target archery and SCA combat.
> As of today, I haven't heard of _any_ place where we know we can hold
> target archery.  So that may be a "moot" point.
>
> The discussion tonight of moving fighter practice will be concluded by
> consensus.  If there seems to be a consensus to move to a particular
> park, we'll move there.  If there's a consensus to postpone the decision
> to January Moot, we'll do that.  If there's no consensus, I'll urge
> postponement.
>
> But we need to do a better job of respecting each other, and showing
> each other that respect.   I hope that all of you will try to adopt a
> little more of my point of view:  Let's try to determine what's best for
> the whole barony, let's take a more inclusive view of who the barony
> consists of, and let's have faith in the good intentions of those around
> us, even if they sometimes fail to make those good intentions clear in
> their words.  I'm calling for increased unity here.
>
> I look forward to seeing you all at Moot tonight, as close to 7:00 pm as
> I can manage.
>
> - Galen
> Baron of Elfsea, where Life is Good




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