Pfaehlers are stubborn... & why I love the Shadow Legion

(And anyone who knows my family will say, "No duh!") Uncle Henry had a seizure yesterday, we don't know if it was from diabetes or epilepsy (both of which run in our family). But he refuses to consider either possibility. That's a Pfaehler for ya.

Since I didn't have much happen today I shall regale everyone with the tale of my initiation into the household of Shadow Legion. Vickie & I are members of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). The SCA attempts to recreate the Middle Ages as they should have been. Within the SCA there are official groups (such as kingdoms, principalities, and baronies) and there are unofficial groups called households. Basically a household is a group of people who like to hang out together, but they usually have some type of entrance requirement. As I understand it, the initiation ritual for Shadow Legion is supposed to be a secret, so I'll only describe what happened afterwards. However, suffice it to say there was quite a bit of laughter & I ended up on my rear - and I wasn't even drinking!

[Warning - slightly mature & potentially offensive material ahead].

Shadow Legion is a group modelled after Vikings. Immediately after I was made a member, the head of the household, Duke Sir Kane, stood with one of his squires behind him and said, "Since I wasn't expecting this I left all my official regalia at home". With that his squire put a hand over his left eye so that he could portray Odin. With great pomp & solemnity, Kane declared it was now time to determine my official Shadow Legion nickname. Another of his squires stepped forward with a jester's cap filled with little pieces of paper. Kane fished around in the hat for a minute, pulled out a slip, held it with both hands & moved it around, exclaiming, "I can't see it!" (I guess that's what happens when your good eye is covered!) I waited expectantly while he pronounced, "Your new Legionnaire nickname is..... Sugar T*ts!" But it could have been a lot worse...one of the names in the hat was "Two Yaks". 8-} I've decided that before the next time I got to a Legion function I'm going to get a couple of those sugar packets from Starbucks that say "Pure Raw Sugar" on them, empty them out, have them laminated, and put pins on the back of them. And guess where they'll be worn!

Many thanks to my friends in the Legion for reminding me the SCA is supposed to be fun!