[Northkeep] Francesca responds to questions.

[Dennis England]

----- Original Message -----
From: <KimDraws at aol.com>
To: <sirbalvin at earthlink.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 8:52 PM
Subject: response


> To the Populace of Northkeep, Greetings!
> At the moot last Saturday, those under consideration for Baron and
Baroness
> agreed to answer questions via e-mail during the time before Her Majesty's
> decision at Wiesenfeuer.  After reviewing the sets of questions already
sent,
> I would like to make a few points, then initiate a possible direction for
> those interested parties.
>
> To begin, I am very, very new to all of this.  Within my first months of
> experience in the SCA, I witnessed a very painful incident that, for all
> practical purposes, may have been avoided had it not been for e-mail.
Back
> in the Dark Ages (i.e. pre-Internet), it is my impression this
organization
> thrived from more powerful forms of communication: face-to-face (in
person),
> mouth-to-ear (phone), and hand-to-eye (written and mailed letters).
Having
> read several weeks of posts forwarded from Sir Balvin's e-mail, I see a
real
> threat to the unity of this populace due to the electronic gratification
of
> instant reacting.  Even now, I would guess there will be some readers who
are
> misinterpreting this message, and readying themselves to respond before
fully
> processing my words; this I cannot prevent, but I do ask you to reread
this
> letter at least twice before you take that action.
>
> First and foremost, I am not campaigning for anything.  There are several
> candidates who are extremely qualified to serve as baron and baroness, and
> Sir Balvin and I offer our support to whoever is chosen.   From my own
> history in other organizations, any leader will offer differing sets of
> strengths and weaknesses; as possible selections, it is our job to do the
> best we can to portray ours candidly so you can decide what you, as a
group,
> will want.  With that in mind,  I am led to ask:  "How do you, the
populace
> of Northkeep, want to evolve?
>
> So, your questions.  Already quite a list of them has begun, and if
everyone
> continues to add on, there's a good chance the Internet will clog up well
> before the next moot.  For now, I will try to answer as fully as possible
> anything I believe relevant.  If you cannot find what you need, let's talk
by
> phone or meet at fighter practice; here, online, neither of us is present
to
> exchange the warmth of a voice, a laugh, or well-timed wink, and I'm
> uncomfortable with that fact.
>
> Mundanely, I am an illustrator, writer, educator, and public speaker, and
> most recognized for my work in the field of children's books; I travel
> extensively on a national level (and am now booked internationally as
well)
> to share my love of stories and art with schools.  My sixth and seventh
books
> are due out this fall; if you have elementary children in the Tulsa area,
you
> may have sent them to a Young Author's Day where I presented.
>
> A year ago last spring, I met and fell madly in love with the World's
Finest
> Man.  As he shared his love of the SCA with me, I was immediately
intrigued.
> The first time he saluted me before turning to fight at Namron, my fate
was
> sealed.  I was hooked.  I look forward to being part of the ongoing
enjoyment
> so many find here.
>
> As the newest of newbies plus a knight's lady, I first wanted adequate
garb;
> this initiated my search for a period, then a persona, then a name, then a
> story, then a culture, then...well, I would guess any and all of you know
> what I'm saying: the discovery of the fun in creating a historical self is
> powerful.  Since I am and always have been an artist, I've researched
> renaissance art materials and recently purchased a silverpoint pen; thus,
my
> persona, Francesca, now owns handmade paper; has built her own pattern for
> garb; is fascinated with the 15th century wax miniature portraits created
in
> Italy, and wants to attempt them herself out of beeswax and resin just as
> soon as she finishes her next dress.  Sound familiar?  Been there, done
that,
> right?
>
> Recently, Sir Balvin and I have gave our names as possible baron and
> baroness.  Considering the rewarding seventeen years he has been a member
of
> Northkeep, I appreciate his desire to return what he can to this
community.
> As his lady, I would be honored to support him in this pursuit.  We view
the
> roles of baron and baroness as reflective of Northkeep, both publicly and
> privately, and as an indication of trust from the populace.  From
research, I
> have found many differing perspectives on the functions of such a title,
but
> one priority shared by all is that a baron and baroness represent the
spirit
> of the barony they serve.  They are charged with the responsibility to
> exemplify, through their words and actions, the values of their people:
> chivalry, consideration, willingness, honesty, and joy, to name a few.
But
> one member of the populace made a wise observation at a recent moot, and
I'd
> like to quote her: "This is supposed to be FUN.  When are we going to get
> back to that?"
>
> After much discussion with my lord, Sir Balvin and I came to a simple
> conclusion: we want Northkeep to be fun.  In today's mundane world,
genuine
> play doesn't happen - no one wants to invest time and effort for
enrichment
> and satisfaction, thus television offers hundreds of mindnumbing channels,
> mediocre movies are issued, drugs are abused, food is fast, and the world
is
> full of whine-aholics.  We would encourage others to find the best within
> themselves through one or more of the three areas recognized by the SCA:
> service, arts and sciences, and fighting.  Emphasis on personal AND
persona
> development would be instituted in standard means known to all: luring,
> teasing, planning, including, challenging, suggesting, brainstorming,
> rewarding, proclaiming, exalting, begging, complimenting, spotlighting,
> networking, communicating, and of course, all-out, no-holds-barred,
shameless
> flattery.  If one of those doesn't work for you, you probably don't belong
> here.
>
> When people join through common interests, the potential is unlimited for
> education and entertainment: learning and laughing.  Usually we relegate
> those experiences to children, and deny the coexistence of such things to
> ourselves as adults.  But the SCA has established itself as a haven for
those
> who have realized their imagination is the only thing in the universe that
is
> real; regardless of whether I become the baroness of Northkeep or not,
this
> is my attitude towards what I will offer as a player: I intend to play.
> And I thank you for your time and thought in reading this.

I remain at your service -
 Francesca