[Artemisia] Re: Magic Moments

[jgawron at rmci.net]

   Well met!

   After reading so many excellent posts and discussions, it would be a
shame to misquote anybody, so I'm just snipping everything!!  But
Vivat!!! to everyone on their thoughts, and thanks to Baron Niccolo for
starting stuff!!

   Now, some (good) magic anecdotes of my own:

    Hearing 'Burden of the Crown' and 'Welcome to the Current Middle Ages'
sung at my first camping event;  held around a campfire in a high
school football field.
    Finishing my first piece of garb.  A T-tunic made of cheap broadcloth.

    Experiencing Mistress Rhonwen perform field heraldry inside a concrete
bunker in the day at the first Crown Tournament His Grace Brion
Tarragon won in a final with Sakura no-kami Maikeru Sama.
    Sitting with Rhonwen and her lord Aelfric later and having her teach
me some elements of field heraldry.

    Seeing the His Majesty Thorfinn walk through the hall decorations at
Arn Hold's 10th birthday event.
    Getting woozy while open casting the site tokens for that same event. 
But being really pleased with how they came out.

    Having my first kill in the open field battle at Estrella.
    Trying on my first set of armor.

    Arriving at Pennsic in the middle of a dry thunderstorm, and truly
feeling what having 10,000 SCA folk in one place means.
    Getting to talk to Master Chirhart after 10 years and arranging to
camp with him at Pennsic, on the phone.

    Walking down the aisle to be offered my Pelican by Alan and Corisande
at Their Coronation, escorted by my lady Mistress Els and her Grace
Anna.
    Soothing my two month old son in the car outside, while Alan and
Corisande tell my lady, Mistress Els, and Her Grace Anna to go fetch
me to Their Court.  You see, he wanted Mommy, but Mommy was up in
Court, so I took him out so Their Majesties could do their thing,
without a very very noisy baby.


    I have more, but that's enough. There are two common threads here,
First, it doesn't take an event for something magic to happen. 
Because if you look, for every magic thing that happened at an event,
there was something outside of an event that was just as magic as the
thing that happened at the event.

    Second, for all of them, I was there; I was participating.  It's not a
matter of more or fewer events, at least for me.  It's a matter of
doing things so I can have the magic happen when I'm there.

    Magic isn't something you can bottle and sell.  That's why it's magic.
 Magic is something you experience.  And, magic is different for each
of us.  I love filk songs; they make magic for me.  But I also have
good friends for whom a filk song destroys any possibility of magic. 
How do we resolve that?  By accepting that magic does not, can not be
the same for all of us, and the only way we can all experience magic
is to play without worrying if the magic will happen.

    It will.  In its own time, not ours. But ya gotta play, and keep playing.

    thanks everyone; after 20+ years, the SCA is still a place I want to
play in.

    brendan