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carmenbeaudryHow do I begin? Way back in the beginning, over 25 years ago, a teenage girl found the SCA and found a home. There were knights in shining armour, ladies fair, and people really cared about things like honor and chivalry. There were shining stars of the SCA, people that you heard about and maybe even met once or twice who seemed to be bigger and better and like they stepped out of fairy tales or legend. One of those was Duke Aoinghas of the East Realm.
Later, as I grew to know more of the people behind the pretty clothes and shiny crowns, I became aware that many of them had distinctly muddy feet, if not downright clay-like. It was still a great shock to hear that Paul Serio, the man we had all known or heard of as Duke Aoinghas, had been arrested and convicted of murder, for his involvement in a contract killing of a woman whose death allowed her infant to starve to death. Not a crime of passion--while abhorrent that could have been understandable--but one that seemed the opposite and rejection of everything he had seemingly stood for within the SCA.
Paul Serio died last Sat. of heart disease. I learned of it today. I cannot mourn the man he became, but I can and do mourn the loss of Duke Aoinghas, the man he once was. I also mourn the loss of the feeling of wonder, of those knights and ladies who were larger than life. And finally, I keep thinking to myself, "we were all so young together."
Later, as I grew to know more of the people behind the pretty clothes and shiny crowns, I became aware that many of them had distinctly muddy feet, if not downright clay-like. It was still a great shock to hear that Paul Serio, the man we had all known or heard of as Duke Aoinghas, had been arrested and convicted of murder, for his involvement in a contract killing of a woman whose death allowed her infant to starve to death. Not a crime of passion--while abhorrent that could have been understandable--but one that seemed the opposite and rejection of everything he had seemingly stood for within the SCA.
Paul Serio died last Sat. of heart disease. I learned of it today. I cannot mourn the man he became, but I can and do mourn the loss of Duke Aoinghas, the man he once was. I also mourn the loss of the feeling of wonder, of those knights and ladies who were larger than life. And finally, I keep thinking to myself, "we were all so young together."
