arontius | Tuesday Night.

.....As far as I was concerned, it was a strange and rather disconcerting evening yesterday, which seems to be continuing into this morning.

.....I rushed around all day yesterday getting caught up from not having been at work on Monday. I did fairly well, although you really couldn't tell that from the piles o'crap stacked all over my desk. But I went home at my normal time for which I was grateful.

.....When I arrived though the Beloved Tamm was not feeling well at all. Tired and listless mainly. She just got over being sick a couple of weeks ago. This bothered me some, especially after hearing that she was still really tired after having taken a good afternoon nap. I debated just bundling her up in the van and taking her to Harrison, for a check if nothing else. But I held off a little and she seemed to be feeling a little better after having a bite to eat. Especially after hearing that she had only had a couple of pieces of toast to eat all day. Sigh!

.....Ran off to Fight Practice. I was running late and am the guy with the key to the building. I need to talk to the church people about a second key. There was a rather large crowd gathered outside the church when I arrived. The weather was rather warm though, so I didn't feel too badly.

.....I was going to either listen to Brighid's class or get caught up on the Pelican notes with my laptop, but Arion asked for some heraldry assistance. I should have thought that one through first. :-) There was a reason I gave up book heraldry for Lent. :-) Heralds make the rules difficult on pupose. :-) We reviewed Arion's rejection letter, which was frustrating because it wasn't very informative. Then we established that what Arion wanted was technically sound as far as heraldry went, which we finally determined that it was (after pouring over a dozen or so web-sites, wish that I had brought some books with me instead). Then went through the online O&A to conflict check. It looked good.

.....By this time my head started to ache. Like I said, there is a reason I don't book herald any more. :-) But the genie was out, a couple of other people saw that an unscheduled heraldry consultation was in process and stepped right up to get their own ideas checked. Ack! By the time we were ready to close up the building, my head was throbbing.

.....But there was one big surprize in store for the evening. This tall guy walked in and I knew that I recognized him, but wasn't sure from where. This was especially true when he nodded at me and said Hi, like I was supposed to know him. I was frantically searching my mind to try and place a face to a name when I was pulled away for heraldry. But later this guy walks up and asks me some questions on armor requirements for rapier. I finally broke down and asked him for his name. He smiled and said 'I'm Tristan, Catelin's son.' Ack! I immediately felt like a dork, but I also felt OLD. I've known this guy for almost fifteen years now. I first met him when he was Rhys' age, ten years old. And here he was at 25. Wow!

.....I remembered immediately the first time I met Tristan. It was at a Yule Feast in the Masonic Temple in Manette. It was his first event and he immediately got involved in a 'boffer' tournament there. He impressed the hell out of everyone there with his gallantry and chivalry. He was taller and older than most of his 'opponents', but he always made sure that he did not take advantage of that fact. He would get on his knees to fight those who were shorter or smaller than him. He would immediately take blows if they counted and he always made sure that the person he was fighting felt good about the fight. How many ten year olds have that presence of mind?

.....He later helped at the potluck feast and then later helped clean the hall so that we could all get out of there as soon as possible. I was certainly impressed. He's always remained that way as well. I hope that he decides to really get involved in Dragon's Laire, we would certainly benefit from his presence I think.

.....I got him hooked up with Talon and the Rapier guys, but I know that he's jonsing to get into heavy if he could only afford it. I'm going to see if I can find some loaner pieces for him to use.

.....Dinner was over at Talon and Jenae's. The Beloved Tamm did not want to go, but Rhys did so that he could have some time playing with Jenae. But Jenae had had a rough day dealing with both students and parents. She was also busy trying to make about a million cookies for the next day. So I said that I would not bring Rhys over. He called a little later wondering if I could come home to pick him up so as to see Jenae and I told him no. He was heart-broken, you could really hear it in his voice both then and when he asked about it later when I arrived home. I'm sure that if Dante were alive he would create a new circle of hell just for those who disappoint Rhys so completely. My portrait will hang prominently, I'm sure.

.....This morning was rather eerie again. The Shipyard Commander has halted all travel to San Diego due to the fires going on in Southern California. There have been a number of people associated with our work down there who have had to be evacuated. None of my people have been affected directly yet. But a lot of the support staff is not available on site. I'm certain that if the work we were doing was not emergent that I would have been told to bring them all home. It'll be interesting to see what happens today.

.....Aaron / Arontius.