Re: Jobs and Cookies and Facts and Perceptions

[Neil Maclay <nmaclay@btg.com>]

Poster: Neil Maclay <nmaclay@btg.com>

Greetings: 

A few years ago, much to my suprise, I was made a Pelican.
This was not a goal that I sought, but it was very flattering
to be thought worthy of it. The real goal of my activity
in the SCA was to enjoy myself and have fun with my friends.
Pursuit of those goals has given me great pleasure over the
years and the things that I do are much more important to me
than any awards granted. I think that if one does what one
loves to do, and does not worry about whether someone influential
is watching, awards will probably come. The most important
award will be one's personal satisfaction with one's life in
the SCA.

But folk are curious about peerage order politics. I don't know
how it is in Chivalry or Laurel meetings, but if have attended
a few Pelican meetings. I don't think that I am revealing any
Pelican secrets if I discuss what kind of things we talk about
when considering candidates. (Do we have any secrets? I must
ask Jaelle.) Mostly we talk about what services they have done
for the people of the kingdom and how well did they perform
the tasks that they had undertaken. Volunteering for more than
one can perform is not a good thing. Other things discussed are:
do they consistently show courtesy; do they show it to everyone
or only to 'important' people; are they helpful to new people;
and are they well rounded in their activity or are they one
note. One thing that I have never heard discussed as a consideration
is whether or not they are a protoge of a Pelican.

I have taken a number of people as protoges but I doubt that this
will help them much to advance to the Order of the Pelican. I am,
prehaps, a bit of a fraud in that I don't know how to teach them
Pelican like things. Most of them have more experience than I do
autocrating and serving in those offices that require a lot of 
paper work. I have always avoided doing things like that. I chose
those whom I liked and I thought would fit in my household and
who showed an inordinate disire to lift their hands when volunteers
were asked for. The more sensible folk who I would like in my
household I ask to be men-at-arms. I think that those who have
accepted my offers have done so because they like my household
and not because they expected a leg up in climbing some ladder
of awards.

Other Pelecans do have some useful skills that they can teach and
their proteges may take some advantage from this. But one thing
I should emphasize, I have never heard or heard of any horse trading
about candidates. No "I will support your lad if you support my lass."
I can't say that it never happened but I don't know of a single
instance of it amoung the Pelicans of the Kingdom of Atlantia.

Malcolm
Master Malcolm MacMalcolm, Marshal
( just say MMMMM... )

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