SC - Iron Chef advice

[Laura C. Minnick]

Jenne Heise wrote:
> 
> > > While I think bringing modern themes like the Iron Chef or, for that
> > matter,
> > >  Toys for Tots,
> > Toys for Tots??  Rediculous to the extreme??  Come on, Ras... we are a
> > service oriented society, are we not?  Besides, don't you drive your very
> > modern car to events??  :)
> 
> Apparently, Ras only approves of doing benefits for medieval
> organizations. Must make it hard to do demos in his area. ;)

I'm going to give Ras the benefit of the doubt and suggest that he might
not have meant it quite as is seems onscreen. It _is_ difficult to link
our purpose as an educational organization that celebrates and
researches the Middle Ages to various other non-profit endeavors. But in
that case I think stepping out of the research mode and saying to
ourselves "We have a very unique group of people here who, by our very
nature as a group of honor, courtesy, and chivalry, could do something
to benefit the greater society outside of our own"- and behaving in our
non-profit mode- we could do great things.

Just as an example, a group in the West- the Shire of Crosston (and
there are Crosstonians on the list- Anahita and His Grace Cariadoc to
start) held a war, in honor of the birthdays of a couple their members,
as a benefit for... I believe it was the Heart Association. They raised
a couple of thousand dollars out there bashing heads. And frankly, I
thought it was one of the most magnificent things that I've heard of the
SCA doing. I know other groups have done similar things.

Heck- the SLUG Queens have been raising money for the new public library
(and this is part of the reason I'm glad I'm stepping down on the 18th-
I'm TIRED!) and Slugs have *NOTHING* to do with libraries. But we are
citizens of our larger community, and we have made a real contribution
(almost $3k) to it. And they're going to name the bathrooms after us-
they will be called the Throne Rooms. (Tacky, I know- but we're slugs?
What do you expect?)

My point? It is a good thing for us as individuals and for us as a group
to interact in the world around us in a positive manner. Whether we bash
heads for the Heart Association, or like some Hospitaller friends of
mine- walk in the local March of Dimes walk-a-thon thing in full armour,
carrying shields and singing in latin the whole way- it is good for the
SCA to been seen not as an exclusive, weird group, but as a group of
people with interesting hobbies who use those hobbies to help the world
around them.

Who put this box under my feet? It seems to say 'Ivory Snow' on the
side! Ack! I'd better shut up and sit down before they put me on-stage
at the convention! (Say what you will about the Republicans- gotta admit
that Gen. Powell is an excellent speaker!)

Back to my job-hunting and sewing,

'Lainie