[Ravensfort] Sad news, A loss of a friend

John Reuter brian_the_french_norman at yahoo.com
Sat May 24 08:51:44 PDT 2008


It is Saturday morning and as I read my e-mail I learn
of the sad news of the passing of Mistress Janet
Morningstar.
     Many members of our society have wonderful
memories of her and how she effected a change in their
lives or gave them an opportunity to be a part of
something big and fun to do. From the stories I have
been told by her and from what I have read this
morning, I can tell you all that we are indeed richer
for having known her. For those who really knew her
and shared in her laughter, sweat and tears it is a
loss that will be felt for some time. A long list of
memories have been listed on the Ansteorran list and I
have posted below Master Robin of Gilwell's
Recollections of Janet and how he knew her. Sir Simon
and H.E. Tessa have shared and expressed their
memories from the time Bordermarch was young and how
she was a moving force in what ever she had an
interest in.
     I remember my first year in the sca when I
learned about the opportunity to work at the Texas
Renaissance Festival (TRF) and how much fun it was. It
was like getting in to a theme park through the back
door and being a part of the show at the same time.
After a few years of helping out it was evident that
she was up to her neck in work and was a great
organizer of people. I met more members of the sca
helping out at TRF. Not at the info booth but working
and having fun each day side by side on the Battle
mound, running the Boche Ball field and walking in the
parade at noon. She was constantly corralling cats and
always planing two steps ahead of the crowd. She made
allot of things happen and gave the opportunity for
member of our Kingdom to share in the fun and work
representing the SCA at TRF.
     Her and I shared many stories of her days at SHSU
and her recollection of the Corosco incident at the
Huntsville Unit. She was the first Journalist at the
unit and started documenting what was happening. She
insisted that she be the first reporter to enter the
crime seen for photos and to interview people since
she was the first on site. She represented the SHSU
news paper and was a journalism major in her junior
year. She said it was the privilege of the first
reporter on site to get that option and to give it to
some one else.....well, that just was not in her to do
so.  
     I hold many more fond memories of Mistress Janet
in my heart. I will miss her in a lot of ways, like
when she had some thing constructive to suggest......
" You know,"........was always followed by some good
sound advice on the project that you were working on.

Good by Janet, I look forward to our meeting again!

Brian du Val, Baron of Raven's Fort




>From Robin of Gilwell... posted to Ansteorra
.................................................................


In a message dated 5/22/2008 10:18:07 AM Central
Daylight Time,
 rudin at ev1.net writes:
  I have just heard that Janet of House Morning Star
has passed away.

  Many of you don't know her, or know her as a
merchant in her later
 years.

  When I joined she was a dynamo of action in all
fields -- service,
 arts and 
  fighting.

  Though of small stature, Janet was a fierce
competitor on the field.
  Her 
  shield was well known. I can still picture it
--tierced  per chevron 
  throughout azure, gules, and vert, overall an
Egyptian hawk displayed
 Or, 
  crowned of a bezant and maintaining two bezants. 
She was loud,
 joyous and 
  fierce.

  The records show that she was the fifth Queen of
Love and Beauty in
 the 
  Steppes, as Amra of Acre won the fifth Steppes
Warlord tournament
 carrying 
  her favor.  What the records don't show is that,
going into the final
 
  round, she already knew she'd won.  She just didn't
know which title
 she'd 
  have yet.  The finalists were Amra, her husband
Telbyrne, and Janet 
  herself.

  In a war in which her knight, Sir Simonn, was
legged, she stood at
 his side 
  to defend him.  A blow was aimed at Simonn, but
Janet threw her own
 shield 
  out to cover him, exposing herself for a
half-second.  Asked about it
 
  later, she said, "I did that?  That's dumb."

  But nobody who knew her is surprised that, instantly
and
 unconsciously, she 
  did something dumb in service to somebody else.

  She was equally aggressive in everything she did. 
Disagreeing with
 Janet 
  was never fun, because she would fight for her
beliefs with every
 fiber of 
  her being.  She carried her passion into everything
she did.

  She was known for her arts, but her greatest
contribution to
 Ansteorra was 
  her work with the Texas Renaissance Festival.  She
co-ordinated our 
  extremely well-paid activities there, and thus made
huge
 contributions, not 
  only to her own group's coffers, but also those of
every active
 branch in 
  Ansteorra.  If your branch dates back to the
seventies or early
 eighties, 
  then Janet materially helped you fund your events
and activities.
  All 
  Ansteorran branches were relatively rich, at a time
when the rest of 
  Atenveldt (our home kingdom then) were close to
scrounging Coke
 bottles on 
  the side of the road to help pay for events.  Her
arms had three gold
 
  coins, and it was quite appropriate.

  But it isn't about the money.  She was part of
Ansteorra developing
 its own 
  character and its own identity, and was therefore
instrumental in the
 
  rising of the Star from a principality to a kingdom.

  The Egyptian Eagle is no longer displayed.  It has
soared into the
 heavens, 
  and has a crown more glorious than a bezant.  But as
long as
 Ansteorra is a 
  kingdom, there will always be an Egyptian hawk
following the Black
 Star.

  Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin 




"Do to other as thou wouldst they should do to thee,
and do to none other but as thou wouldst be done to." 

These words can be found in the following:
(including the New Testament, Talmud, Koran, and the
Analects of Confucius). Among the earliest appearances
in English is Earl Rivers' translation of a saying of
Socrates (Dictes and Sayenges of the Philosophirs,
1477)



More information about the Ravensfort mailing list