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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Just had to add my wee bit to the discussion.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Though it was brought up as a sort of a sideline to one of the comments, I believe that the definition of prowess as being a comparison to yourself and your abilities to be a most important delineation. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>An example is often worth more than much discourse.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>There reside within my local area several people who have an abiding interest in the art of recreating medieval foodstuffs. Several of those have degrees in that area and several more work with food preparation on a daily basis. Some of us have had some training in food preparation and even more training in that area that many people fear known as documentation. There are even a few like myself who love to explore medieval recipes but must rely on others for the tasting of same because our health won't allow us to eat the food we prepare. And then there is one in particular who loves this area perhaps even more than the rest of us but who labors under a .... well, to put it politely, ..... lack in the mental areas.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>It would be easy to say that the person who works as a chef every day and who has a degree in historical research and who manages to produces a feast the likes of which we have rarely seen, is recognizable as showing the virtue of prowess in this area.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>It may be less easy to see, and yet therefore much more important that we take the time to observe, that the person mentioned lastly two paragraphs above who submits a correctly prepared soup with two paragraphs of correct documentation at a competition (where before he had submitted a modern soup and an index card with his name) is showing much more prowess.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Why? Because that second person worked to improve himself in his area and showed a more marked improvement.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>That, to me, is true prowess. To improve against yourself. Not in comparison to anyone else. But against yourself and to stretch your own abilities to their fullest. For that is the true test. The test of yourself and your abilities.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>OK, I am philosophizing so I must be overly tired. Time to crawl off to bed.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussions.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><B>Lady Constance de la Rose<BR>Barony of Loch Salann<BR>Kingdom of Artemisia<BR><BR>"Never say a thing's impossible,<BR>For chances are you'll rue it.<BR>Because some fool who doesn't know,<BR>Will come along and do it."</B></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>