[Artemisia] What made you stay?

[Dori Andrepont]

I went to a (non-SCA) demo at Warwick Castle and became an instant groupie.
One of the kind participants finally took pity on me and told me to go home
and find the SCA. When a flyer went up at the local hobby store for a
meeting for those interested in starting an SCA group, I was one of 56
people that showed up.

It took about a half-dozen meetings before the one actual SCA member in the
group got three of us to an event. (I really think being well-informed
about the SCA before attending an event helped us fit in considerably, but
I realize that isn't always an option.) Even with all the anticipation, my
first event was beyond my expectations, and I was hooked.

Of the four attendees from the incipient canton to that event, they have
held seven local, three kingdom, and two society offices. All are now
pelicans, three became barons/baronesses and the fourth founded an
inter-kingdom war household that has survived beyond his own passing.

I think we all learned much from the first speech we ever received about
the SCA (paraphrased): "It isn't cheap, it isn't easy, and it can take an
unimaginable amount of time, but if you stick with it, you will find
pageantry, nobility, graciousness and true friends. You won't find all of
these at every meeting or at every event, but by your own efforts, you will
find them."

Doria