In the fall of 2006, I was on temporary assignment in Maryland, and one of my local friends asked if I wanted to go to the Maryland Renaissance Faire. I’d been to a few Faires before and, being a complete and hopeless nerd, I loved them. So I said sure. And then I logged onto their website so I could plan for time, cost and directions.
Somewhere along the line, I noticed a link for the SCA. The Society for Creative Anachronism. The next thing I knew, it was 4am and I was crawling into bed, trying to get two hours of sleep in before work. But I couldn’t. I was too excited. My face stretched taunt with a massive grin.
I had discovered the Society, the Dream. My Dream. I spent many, many hours devouring anything I could find online about the Society. Two months later, in December, back home in Kentucky, I crossed the street from the Post Library where I had just spent most of my lunch on more SCA-related research, this time looking at video from the Pennsic War, to the Education Center. Denise, the friendly receptionist to whom I’ve spoken before, greeted me with her eyeglasses perched on the tip of her nose, a beaded chain looped from the glasses arms and around her neck.
As she fetched my education record for me, I glanced over the whimsical paraphernalia that was scattered over her desk, a multitude of pixies and fairies, particularly Disney’s Tinkerbelle. But most importantly, pinned behind magnets on her upper shelf, were two postcards. Pennsic postcards.
“…Hey…” said I. “I was just reading about the Pennsic War. Are you part of the Society for Creative An...Anak…Anachro…?”
“Anachronism. And yes I am.”
Well that started a two hour conversation, only occasionally interrupted by one of her customers. Denise Tinker-Lemke, otherwise known as Keely the Tinker, just happened to be the Chatelaine for the Barony of Flame, the Barony responsibile for the Louisville, Kentucky area. The Barony belongs to the South Oaken Region of the Middle Kingdom, the Third Kingdom ever to be created in the Society.
“So what time period are you interested in?” she asked, very nonchalantly.
“Irish.” I said. “Very early period.”
“How early?” She asked, a gleam alight in her eyes now.
“As early as possible.”
“Oh really.” While she didn’t quite steeple her fingers ala’ Montgomery Burns, you could hear the same inflection in her voice.
And so then I learned about her House, Ring Tribe, a barbarian band of Celts.
Thus is begun.
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