Monday, January 30, 2012
Memory 2, Week 2
Sir Kona sits hunched against the back of the flimsy rampart whose front is painted to look like the solid stone of a castle for the ongoing "fort battle." The dark braided leather of the greaves covering his upright shin and the arm he slings across his bent knee completely hide the face he has buried in the crook of his elbow. Only his long, dark, wavy hair peaks above his arm and falls over his pauldrons. My Lord Chip walks over and holds a bottle of water out to his knight, but Kona shakes his head and instead reaches for Chip's hand and hoists himself from the ground. He slowly walks away, headed for camp, slightly dragging his feet through the dust and sparse grass. In real life, Kona's name is Brian Cooper and he is in great need of back surgery. He, like many of the aging men of the SCA, however, likes to pretend that he can leave that part of himself behind for event weekends as well. Chip stands in front of me now, eyes brighter blue than usual. The way they always do when he's happy and has physically exerted himself. "Do you have any Advil?" he asks. He knows I do; in my purse next to the cell phone I'm not supposed to carry around here. "Kona's really hurting."
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What you might try here is a John Jeremiah Sullivan approach to writing about these rather eccentric cultures. It's fantastic material, I think: quirky, marginal, etc. You have to watch the balance, however. On one hand, you're more apt to be objective (since you're outside it all); on the other hand, your husband is involved, which might give render you a bit more biased.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your incorporation of the knightly mannerisms shared between Chip and Brian. I think it sets up this unique connection between these two characters and allows your readers an interesting insight to how you see these two people. If you continue this avenue, I would be careful when juggling not to become too emotional since your husband is involved and Brian seems to be hurt and in the hospital, I believe. (Not sure. Only detail we are given is the fact that a cell phone is not allowed on the premises.) By possibly offering a historical "ball" to be juggled, the high emotions could be counterbalanced smoothly. I am particularly curious to know as to why “Kona” or Brian hids his face from “Lord Chip.” Is he ashamed of his “battle wounds” or weakness? Is it out of pride or embarrassment? Depending upon the reason, I think you could definitely highlight historically how proud the knights were to keep the emotions cool. I also find it interesting how your husband refers to him as Kona rather than by his real name. You could even play with the idea of reality vs. imaginary. What is real between these two people and what is not? How else could you incorporate this theme? I think that would be an extremely interesting twist .
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