[Sca-cooks] OT Heralds

[Laura C. Minnick]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
>
> A tired Lainie declared:
> > Ok- I read a bunch of posts on Heralds and dragons in drag and...
> >
> > Just to say this:
> >
> > It is not the job of an officer (herald, seneschal, Grand Poo-Bah, Chief
> > Nose-Picker, etc) to say NO. It is the job of the officer TO FIND A WAY
> > TO SAY YES!
>
> I'm sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with this statement.
>
> This, to give it a context that folks here may see easier, is like
> saying that the officer must find a way to say YES to having
> hamburgers and hotdogs at a feast.
>
> If the desired heraldry doesn't follow period rules or is utterly
> modern in charges and style, the officer should not be trying to find
> a way to allow it.

Ack! Ack! Not how I meant!

We all know them- the officers how automatically say no- and then dare
you to figure a way out and around... and that is the form I spoke
against.

Ok, if teh heraldry doesn't follow rules, etc, and can't pass, I am not
saying that the herald should make it pass. What I mean by 'FIND A WAY'
is something like sitting down and saying "Well, you want this and this
and this. Hmm. Unfortunately, as this is, it doesn't follow the basic
rules of heraldry, and I can submit it but it will bounce. But we might
be ables to do something here. What of these parts is the most important
to you? Is there a story behind them? How about if we put this here, and
oh- if we change to color of this it would make things a lot easier!" Do
you get my drift? Finding out what they really want gets you a long way
towards helping them put together something that will pass.

You see, my perspective on officering- is that you're not there to 'run'
things or push paper (while that is important) or appear officious when
you stand around in your tabard. The officer's first duty is to be a
_servant_. If someone wants hotdogs at feast, then we graciously say "I
don't believe that we can do that, but I know that there will be some
wonderful sausages made by Lady Beefgrinder! Perhaps if you hold onto a
bit of the bread appetizer, you could eat that with the sausage. But I
heartily recommend the mustard sauce- it is delicious!" Or if someone
wants to sponsor a 'Commercial Jingle Bardic' and offer prizes for the
best approximation of the Budweizer Frogs- you can say "Hmm. That might
be better off in your own camp, after all, most people don't come to an
SCA event for references to Tv. But you know, in the planned bardic, we
could have a contest for short songs or skits about money! Maybe offer a
beverage for the winner?"

I hate it when we have to say no. Site constraints and money policy
already get a lot of things we could do. But when someone asks for
something it is sometimes a good thing to not immediately say no, but to
stop, think about what they really want, and you might be able to work
something out.

And when you can, it is a wonderfull thing to be able to turn to them
and say "It was a lot of work, but I think it will pass!"

'Lainie