Seneschal's July Acorn Letter

[etsmith@scsn.net (E T Smith)]

Warm Greetings unto the denizens of the Merry Rose.
   A number of Atlantians have asked what's going on regarding the 
Kingdom Seneschal's position. I'm posting my final Acorn letter to give 
you my best perception of what's happening. 

Dear Friends,
   I wish to confirm what I told the recent Curia Regis--that I will 
soon step down as Kingdom Seneschal. After returning from the April 
Board of Directors meeting where the banishment of Lord Fritz Justus 
Fritz (mka Fred Grundeman) was overturned, the lame-duck Society 
Seneschale, Duchess Sedalia MacNare, called to inform me that because I 
had not characterized the Barony of Caer Mear as dysfunctional that She 
would not renew my warrant as Atlantian Seneschal. My response is that 
Caer Mear is far from being dysfunctional. Indeed, the courage and 
fortitude of its populace over the past year's stressful times has been 
an inspiration to me as well as to others who were aware of the 
pressures being exerted on them. If I am to be pilloried by the 
corporate heirarchy, I'm proud that it can be in defense of the 
effectiveness of the good people of the Barony of Caer Mear. I know of 
no group in Atlantia that is more capable as anyone who attended the 
recent Emerald Joust/Kingdom 15th Birthday event at Camp Brady Saunders 
will attest.
   Since 24 April, Duchess Sedalia has not responded to several requests 
for amplification of Her decision and Her supervisor, Viscount Sir 
Edward Zifran of Gendy (President of the Board of Directors) has refused 
to intervene saying that it is left to the discretion of the Society 
Officers to choose their subordinates. While this sounds good in theory, 
we should all be concerned when a Great Officer of State can be removed 
(not renewed in my case) without just cause. Do you really want some 
faceless bureaucrats who know you not to have such untrammelled control 
over the administration of your kingdom? Given that the Board of 
Directors is a self-selecting group that is only occasionally subject to 
the will of the populace (and that at the behest of a court order) and 
that not all kingdoms are represented on that body at all times, perhaps 
Atlantia will at some future date see the wisdom in taking charge of its 
affairs by separately incorporating with some vestigal inter-kingdom 
body empowered solely to negotiate multilateral issues.
   A number of you have asked if writing to someone would help. After 
due consideration, I find that such an effort would not change matters 
as they stand. The corporate heirarchy is not listening. There has been 
no meaningful interchange between them and myself since 24 April. 
   Please do not spend a moment worrying on my behalf. It has been my 
sincere pleasure to serve you as Kingdom Seneschal these past two years. 
The support I've received not only from the seneschallate but also from 
the populace at large has been truly magnificent. Together we have 
accomplished much--not the least of which is the soon-to-be-accomplished 
full availability of Atlantia's publications on the Internet. As you 
develop this capability, the kingdom can preserve a lot of trees and 
save a lot of postage by "delivering" documents cybernetically. We are 
continuing to refine the procedures for the care and feeding of our 
young people. The "spiff" quotient of our events has improved markedly. 
The Challenge of the Seven Deadly Sins and Knight of the Heart are 
sterling exemplars of this progress. 
   I am one of the lucky ones--I have a full life outside the SCA. In 
addition to teaching computer skills to physically handicapped adults at 
South Carolina's award-winning Vocational Rehabilitation Center, I have 
the joy of playing in the Columbia Concert Band as well as singing with 
both the Palmetto Mastersingers and the Columbia Choral Society. I look 
forward to regaining a modicum of control over my telephone <grin> and 
being able to spend more time with my good lady wife, Grafin Judith von 
Gruenwald, my two adult children, and my two wonderful grandchildren. 
   Their Royal Majesties have chosen Mistress Keilyn fitzWarin, formerly 
Minister of Arts and Sciences, as my replacement. She will assume her 
duties in July after we have a face-to-face meeting. I extend to her my 
best wishes for a happy, successful term as kingdom seneschale. To 
confound the often-quoted Chinese proverb, "May You not live in 
interesting times."
    Always remember that this is our hobby. We do this for fun. If you 
are not having fun; you are doing it wrong. VIVAT ATLANTIA!
Warmest regards,
Thomas
Done by my hand this 31st day of May, A.S. XXXI, being 1996 C.E.
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