Re[2]: Mundane Military/SCA Overlap <was: My Thanks for the

["David H Ritterskamp" <dhritter@dpcmail.dukepower.com>]

Poster: "David H Ritterskamp" <dhritter@dpcmail.dukepower.com>

     
 Sorry for debunking this story for those of you who liked it:^).  Have fun,
     
Sean MacKay
        [I would point out, at this dramatic juncture, that this story has 
        reached the point of Urban Legend [TM] and that even if I were to go 
        back and read all the accumulated evidence and find that no such 
        sequence of events ever took place, my response would be a hearty "SO 
        WHAT??"  
        
        I don't believe in any of the various mythoi that are obviously 
        mythological in nature, i.e., Greek mythology, but there are stories 
        that have sprung up around actual events, i.e. the Arthurian legend, the 
        Trojan War, etc.  
        
        Let's take the Trojan War as a good example:  
        
        The TW was basically fought by maybe a couple of hundred guys TOTAL and 
        lasted MAYBE a couple of days, and it MIGHT have started over a woman.  
        So somebody [Homer] says to himself, [in Greek of course]"Hey!  This 
        sounds like a cool novel in the works!"  and proceeds to write _The 
        Iliad_.  I suspect that somebody paid him to pretty it up.
        
        What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that myths are 
        basically an uneducated person's way of understanding how or why 
        something happens, i.e., why do the seasons change, etc.
        
        There are some facts about The Legend of The Nimitz that are 
        indisputable:
        
        1.      There were, at some point, SCAdians aboard.
        2.      At some point, they probably had at least one fighter practice.
        
        Now, add to this mixture the conjectures that:
        
        3.      It is entirely possible that there was a Russian spy satellite 
        overhead [that being the version _I_ heard.
        4.      It is entirely possible that the fighter practice in question 
        took place on the flight deck during downtime.
        5.      It is entirely possible that the spy satellite took its pictures 
        faithfully, as spy satellites are wont to do.
        6.      It is entirely possible that these pictures are now in the 
        possession of the KGB, or whoever, over there.
        
        Note that none of this is LIKELY. 
        
        So what?  It makes for a good story.  Kind of like the Hell's Angels 
        interrupting an SCA event...while it may/may not be true, it doesn't 
        matter.  The Legend of The Nimitz is a good story that will continue to 
        be told, even if all evidence points to the contrary.
        
        Instead of looking for evidence to the contrary, just lump The Nimitz 
        Story under "SCA Apocrypha" and enjoy it along with all the other 
        stories, no matter how implausible they may be.  
        
        [Until the members of Curragh Mor say that it didn't happen, it 
        happened...and after they say it didn't happen, buy them a drink and ask 
        them again.  Repeat as necessary.]
        
        Ld. Jonathan Blackbow

=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org