SC - Fwd: For submission to the Chronus Draconum

[Mordonna22@aol.com]

> In a message dated 8/17/1999 7:12:21 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
> jstaplet at du.edu writes: 
> 
> << Count me in as one who's bothered and embarrassed, Noemi.  :-)   >>
> 
> Then my simple tresponse is, do something about it.  :->  
> 
Good lady, I have been, to the best of my ability.  :-)  

this goes to everyone who has made suggestions here so far as Maredudd,
Elaina and I have talked:  the writers all seem to be suggesting things
we have already tried and already do.

Many quiet explanations are met with wrinkled brow and wails of "but
I *LIKE* chocolate!".

I know you all mean well--and while I usually woudn't presume, I was
over at Maredudd's house earlier tonight, and we spoke of this--but
the writers seem to be picturing extremes in behavior in terms of
countering this trend, stamped feet, explosive fits of rage, and that
just isn't the case.

I don't know if Elaina was actually cooking this feast--I think she
was, she'll correct me if I'm wrong--but she was telling me about an
occasion where the food was well prepared, well done, and the autocrat
without talking to her undertook to serve a big chocolate trifle to
head table.  That's nothing more than sheer emotional blackmail, folks.
I see it quite a lot when someone cooking *is* nervous about the
reception of period food, so they seem to find it necessary to insert
something like rich chocolate desserts.  To me, it's like flinching
when playing chicken:  many people who don't cook just don't trust
that the food will be good, even if you have previously fed them
something whose provenance they did not know and they thought was
wonderful.

It's worse when someone acts without at least talking to the head cook.

> Everyone here knows that chocolate as we know it isn't period so talking 
> about it in this forum doesn't do any good.  If it takes entering hot 
> chocolate using the Aztec recipie with a ton of documentation, then do it.  
> If it takes writing articles or teaching classes, do it.
> 
Actually, in talking about it in this forum I've gotten some great ideas
about what to enter, so I make bold to dispute your above assertion,
good Noemi.  :-)

> I've chosen to not let it bother me because I don't know enough about period 
> cooking to really teach about it and since I tend to do more periodish food I 
> have no right to say anything.  I've also realized, after hearing a million 
> ways to justify it, and seeing it declared "period" by royal decree in a lot 
> of newsletters, that people really want to have it be period and this desire 
> reaches an almost religious fervor.  That makes it a battle I don't want to 
> be involved in.  I can tolerate chocolate far better than bad costume, saying 
> period food tastes bad, polyester or disrespect, so I've picked my points of 
> irritation and battles accordingly.
> 
I agree with your last statement; but the thing is, this is such a silly
"battle" that it *shouldn't* reach the degree of religious fervor that it
has.  I stand strongly by my original assertion:  people just don't like
being told "that's not correct",, and rather than just take it private
to their own camp and their own covered dishes at their own personal
place sitting, they make an issue out of it.

Berengaria

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