SC - Re: "No glory comes without pain"

[Steven Cowley]

ChannonM at aol.com wrote:

> << I am sure
>  that some list members in other parts of the world are now
>  wondering how there can be such disparities among Americans
>  and a lot of  non-SCA members are totally bored with this.  Sorry
>  for any inconveniences or boredom I have caused.  >>
>
> Do not apologize. There are too many of us who are egocentric and can't
> imagine that others don't do things the way we do. Thanks for shaking that
> misconception up.
>
> I must commend you for having stood up for yourself and taken the time to
> explain your situation. Many would have blown off the original rebuttals and
> not given it another thought. The job of a head cook in a medieval feast is
> incredibly difficult, although there are many who make it look simple. We all
> do the best we can with what we have.

Thanks for your comments here.  Planning a feast is as much an art as is the
cooking.  It takes skill and patience to learn what can be done at a reasonable
cost and what cannot.  The thing to remember is why we do this.

We do it because we enjoy doing it, not because we have too.  We do this to
create an enjoyable atmosphere, where people go away feeling that they had a good
time and that they want to come again.  We do this because, in our hearts, we all
feel that something is missing in this modern world of ours.  That something
being virtue, integrity and genuine caring for another person.  If we can just
help in bringing these qualities to the forefront of another person's mind, no
matter how brief a time, we have our reward.

What  we serve at a feast will be shortly forgotten by the majority of the
participants, but we will always remember the joy that we brought them through
our love of cooking and our love for the dream.  If our feasts were bad or poorly
executed, we don't get asked to do it again.  Remember, not everyone is at the
level of competence in doing this.  There are those who can feed a hundred at a
moments notice and those who are doing their first feast. Remember back to your
first feast and how overwhelmed you felt.  But you went ahead and did it.  And as
time went by, it got easier.  We all learn at different rates, but we all learn
through the same methods.  We learn through practice, we learn by listening to
the council of those who have walked the road before us and we learn from our
mistakes.  (And we even learn from this list...if you can believe that)

We are the ones who help the dream to come alive.  So seize the moment when it
arises, because even as much as we play the game, they are few and far between.

- --
Ld. Steffan of the Close (The Camp Cook)
(: The greatest pleasure in life lies in doing that which people say we cannot do
:)