[Namron] Re: The Black Death... (*long*)

[Aline Swynbrook]

Greeting unto their excellencies and the populace,

Normally, it is my policy not to comment on
politicking, list posting, and the like.  However, I
feel that it is important to add my two cents on this
one, and I am directing it as a general cautionary
tale.

I came into this game my freshman year of high school,
in another group in this state.  My participation, due
to being busy with said school, was largely limited to
2-3 populace meetings a year.  However, I read, and
studied, and made garb, all on my own.  And I loved
the SCA with every fiber of my being.

Then, shortly after graduating from high school, and
preparing to move to college, a great unpleasantness
erupted in the North and spread throughout the
kingdom.  If you don't know of what I speak, better
for you your innocence.  If you do, I am sorry for the
painful memory.

This dark unpleasentness consummed the majority of the
mailing lists I was on (largely my only contact to the
Kingdom) for many months.  Already in a time of
transition, it reached a point for me where the stress
wasn't what I needed, and I made a choice to stop
playing all together.  I didn't even make an attempt
to join the local group.  I stopped checking my email.
 I rarely even talked to those in my original home
group, which no longer seemed like home.

I had the good fortune to make friends, outside the
SCA, with a few people up in Mooneschadowe over my
first three years of school, but even their gentle
prodding couldn't induce me to try again, until my
senior year, when I found myself with some time on my
hands, and a half formed memory of a dream I thought
had died.  And so I went to a populace meeting...and I
saw the Dream again.  And it was better than I
remembered.

Please, please, please, think about your words, and
posts, and actions.  We are a group founded on the
ideals of chivalry, honor, and fair play.  There is
too much dissension and anger and foul hatred in the
real world to bring it into the society.  And it
infects far worse than the plague ever did.

Below, find the lyrics to a song I found that is sung
in An Tir (I know not if they sing it here in
Ansteorra, but perhaps it should be).

In service to Society, Kingdom, Crown, Barony, and
foremost, the Dream,
Aline Swynbrook

In the Current Middle Ages
by YAakov HaMizrachi 

See the Tudor in his pride and the Celt there at his
side
And behind them goes a Mongol who's a knight
For there are nine-and-sixty ways of playing in the
SCA
And every single one of them is right!

Now in the Current Middle Age mighty battles we do
wage
Tho' we looks like little boys what plays with sticks
And I was never very fond, of the warriors of Nippon
For I've always said that East and West don't mix

Then a swishy-pokey tramp tried to come in my camp
And he said me 'elm and armor didn't match
For there never was a place where a helm with open
face
Would be worn with metal plate and leather patch

So I fixed him with a sneer, said: "You haughty
Cavalier!
You've the nerve to come and try and play our game!
For you foolish foppish dupe, your entire ensemble's
OOP!"
And I harangued him 'til he hung his head in shame

But when news of what I sing came before our noble
King
Well, he said to me in court that very night
There are nine-and-sixty ways of playing in the SCA
And every single one of them is right!

See the dances that we know, both from Playford and
Arbeau
(Though a hundred years may lie betwixt the two)
And you wouldn't think it course to see a Pict or Jarl
or Norse
A-wearin' boots from when the Tudor line was new

Now in the Current Middle Age, folks may fly into a
rage
When they see a bloke with whom they don't agree
And they're apt to shout "It's schism!" when it's just
anachronism
Born of ignorance or maybe poverty

Now some are in it for the fun, as have been since AS
I
And still others love the research and the work
But whatever you enjoy, be polite and don't annoy
Or you'll find that everyone thinks you're a jerk

So here's the essence of the thing, that I learned
then from my King
And I think it shows remarkable insight:
There are nine-and-sixty ways of playing in the SCA...
AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS RIGHT! 



		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail