Leif took these photos of himself in his new SCA armor, in the living room at 710 N.9th Street, Manhattan, Kansas. I never saw them while he was alive. I found them on his computer after he died. They are just a few of a series of many he took. Leif took a lot of photos of himself and his belongings, but he didn't share them with us. I am now seeing photos of him over the past ten years that I hadn't seen until April of this year.
This was expensive armor. I don't know whether he ordered it or bought it at "Lilies," the "War of the Lilies," the SCA event of the Kingdom of Calentir that he loved to go to the summers when he was living in Kansas. I don't think I have any photos of him fighting in this armor. By this time, I think he had evolved from The GQ Pirate to Graeloch.
When he moved to Florida, he never got started with SCA again, which I think is yet another connection he missed that might have helped him find friends and physical activities. In his email account, I found an email he sent to the local shire just a few months before his death, but apparently, it either wasn't answered or he didn't pursue it further. SCA was such an important part of his life in Kansas, I can't imagine that he didn't miss it. He still kept all of his garb and weaponry.
I think in addition to the thrill of fighting other knights, Leif really identified with not only the knight/warrior mentality, but also the hero aspect. He really DID want to rescue fair maidens . . . and most of all, to win the heart of one he could love.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment