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alatar · 06-28-2009, 07:02 PM

Can't seem to find the best place to put this, and in lieu of creating another thread, figured I'd work within this one.

Recently I got to attend 'scout' camp with my son. We spent a few days in the wilderness, sleeping in a tent, lighting fires and whittling. There were also scheduled activities, and other campers as well. The best times were when he and I walked through the woods alone, and also when he would still take and hold my hand, as some of you know (and as a country song puts it) "It won't be like this for long."

Of course, me being who I am, I was able to find something to get worked up about. This year, the theme for the camp was, I guess, King Arthur or fantasy or people who dressed as if in a Renaissance fair, wearing funny clothes, carrying chunks of iron that were supposed to be swords, and speaking with 'British' accents that sounded none too real (an aside: my astute son wondered if people back in the day sounded anything like the camp staff - he too was annoyed).

But we played along. Along with Arthur (who looked a lot more like a Friar than a King) was Lady Guinevere, and of course Merlin, and playing the part of the bad guy (but none too bad as the kids had to sleep at night) was...

Mor... Mor... All I was able to hear was Mor...something.

Mordred? Morgana? What?

The last night, to my horror, I learned what the 'something' was.

Morgoth!

Yes, that's right. Morgoth was the evil wizard. Not only was this a bit of a mixing of fantasy worlds, I thought that Morgoth was a tad underrepresented. He...He was the equal of Arthur? But it got worse. Morgoth was actually Red Riding Hood. Some big dude had to wear some silly red ill-fitting cape and hood, and mask his face with some stockings. Humiliating as this was for the Lord of Arda (pending), he was then taken by surprise by Guinevere, who came up behind him with a sword and took Excalibur from his hand...hmmm...now where have I seen something like that before?

"What's this? A Vala taken by surprise?"

Then again, Arthur was monologuing, and after a day of hiking an swimming and play and more hiking, I too was a bit stunned by the syllogizing.

And completely astounding to the kids, and mostly unintelligeable, was something earlier about a creature called a jabberwock.

I now have one more thing to fix in my son's brain.

06-28-2009, 07:02 PM	#17
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,499	Can't seem to find the best place to put this, and in lieu of creating another thread, figured I'd work within this one. Recently I got to attend 'scout' camp with my son. We spent a few days in the wilderness, sleeping in a tent, lighting fires and whittling. There were also scheduled activities, and other campers as well. The best times were when he and I walked through the woods alone, and also when he would still take and hold my hand, as some of you know (and as a country song puts it) "It won't be like this for long." Of course, me being who I am, I was able to find something to get worked up about. This year, the theme for the camp was, I guess, King Arthur or fantasy or people who dressed as if in a Renaissance fair, wearing funny clothes, carrying chunks of iron that were supposed to be swords, and speaking with 'British' accents that sounded none too real (an aside: my astute son wondered if people back in the day sounded anything like the camp staff - he too was annoyed). But we played along. Along with Arthur (who looked a lot more like a Friar than a King) was Lady Guinevere, and of course Merlin, and playing the part of the bad guy (but none too bad as the kids had to sleep at night) was... Mor... Mor... All I was able to hear was Mor...something. Mordred? Morgana? What? The last night, to my horror, I learned what the 'something' was. Morgoth! Yes, that's right. Morgoth was the evil wizard. Not only was this a bit of a mixing of fantasy worlds, I thought that Morgoth was a tad underrepresented. He...He was the equal of Arthur? But it got worse. Morgoth was actually Red Riding Hood. Some big dude had to wear some silly red ill-fitting cape and hood, and mask his face with some stockings. Humiliating as this was for the Lord of Arda (pending), he was then taken by surprise by Guinevere, who came up behind him with a sword and took Excalibur from his hand...hmmm...now where have I seen something like that before? "What's this? A Vala taken by surprise?" Then again, Arthur was monologuing, and after a day of hiking an swimming and play and more hiking, I too was a bit stunned by the syllogizing. And completely astounding to the kids, and mostly unintelligeable, was something earlier about a creature called a jabberwock. I now have one more thing to fix in my son's brain. __________________ There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.