[Elfsea] To be or not to be....

[Marsh, Vicki]

Wow!!!  Violet, what a great point!

Thank you.  This is the same type of criteria that Llywelyn and I came up
with.

There is a quote from the Academy of the Rapier 9 book from Sir William of
Wier about how to become a Knight.  (I'm paraphrasing from memory)..."First,
you become a Knight.  Then you go around the Kingdom convincing all the
other fighters that you are a Knight.  Then the King puts a belt and chain
on you because he knows that you are a Knight.  Then you called a Knight."

So, the first step is to *become* the Baron and/or Baroness.  You don't need
a brass hat or a peerage to do that.  You *become* noble.  You *are* a hard
worker - the type that is always there to load, to unload, to set up, to
take down, to do the paperwork, to recommend people for awards, to give out
largesse  - sometimes in secret (that's the fun part), sometimes in public
(but not to satisfy your own ego) - and to do the most you can for all the
people that you can because you enjoy it and you want other people to join
in the fun you are having.

So, who amongst the 8 couples does the Barony turn to for leadership?
Who do we go to for answers to questions?
Who reaches out their hands in friendship to new people?
Who reaches out to bring back the old people and keep them involved?
Who do you trust to complete a job?
Who is working when the job is behind the scenes and is hard to do?
Who is physically and financially able to support this *very* demanding
position?
Who has a support group that will help them during the times when they are
not physically or financially able to support the position?
Who do you trust to be the representative of your Barony?

And for questions to the 7 couples who are not chosen.......

What do you want to do as Baron and Baroness that you cannot do without the
title and position?

You can do pretty much everything but get the brass hat, the garage full of
stuff, and you can't give out the baronial awards.  You can still be a
leader, you can still recommend people for awards, and you can still make an
incredible impact upon the group that you love so very much.

And trust me when I say that if you do not *LOVE* these people, you won't be
a very good Baron or Baroness.

Your ex-Baroness,

Mistress Xene,
Holder of the Azure Grail of Elfsea