What is the kindest thing you have ever seen in the Society?

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Master Aleksandr Ruslanovich and Lady Morwenna Westerne (other question responses)
Mistress Caitlin Davies and Master Justin du Coeur (other question responses)
Lady Emmanuelle de Chenonceaux and Master Seamus Donn (other question responses)
Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarch and Lord Kali Harlansson of Gotland (other question responses)
Seigneur Jehan du Lac (other question responses)
Master John McGuire (other question responses)
Shi Hua Fu and Lady Yelizaveta Medvedeva (other question responses)

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Master Aleksandr Ruslanovich and Lady Morwenna Westerne :

Like [the

"Magic Moment" question

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Master Justin du Coeur :

*Very* tough question; there are way too many possibilities. So I'll just answer from the gut, with my first reaction.

When Caitlin was getting her AoA, the scroll was absent. (I don't even remember why any more.) Queen Maurya, thinking quickly, took a ring from her own finger and gave it to Caitlin as a personal promissory. This wasn't a cheap ring -- it was real silver, with a lapus lazuli stone set into it. It was enormously touching, one of the best examples I've seen to date of true nobility on the throne. When Caitlin got her scroll and returned the ring to Maurya, she had a duplicate made as a personal keepsake, because it had made the day particularly special for her.

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Lady Emmanuelle de Chenonceaux :

I have seen many acts of generosity in the Society, from inviting strangers to dine at falling leaves, to loans of clothing for new people, and at Pennsic. I see so many acts of kindness at every event that it is hard to single out one. People tend to pass on small kindnesses

Master Seamus Donn :

A couple, with long held ambitions to the throne (and no small chance of winning), offered to withdraw from an Eastern Crown List because it was much easier to run a list for 12 people than 13 people.

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Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarch :

I have seen many kindnesses in the Society, from carrying something unasked, to entertaining children, to escorting some poor woman with a broken ankle to and from the porta-castle; from treating someone dressed less than perfectly as a noble person to offering serious constructive criticism of a project. This past Pennsic I worked a few shifts at lost and found point (which is a grueling job by the way and one always in need of volunteers.) It was amazing what was turned in (baskets complete with wallets and money, loose money, coronets), how delightful it was to reunite people with their lost property, and how much work the people running it put in every year. They do it to make life easier for the rest of us. So I cannot pick out one kindness, but I will say that I am constantly amazed at and grateful for the amount of work we all do for each other and the general respect we show each other.

Lord Kali Harlansson of Gotland :

In the 27 years I've been in the SCA I've seen a great many very kind acts; I haven't kept score. But here's one that made a big impression on me:

When I dislocated my shoulder at a tourney at Tufts in 1980, Aquel and Johanna drove me and Caryl to the HCHP clinic. They waited with us while the clinic took an unconscionably long time confirming it really was dislocated. They kept Caryl company while I was wheeled away and put to sleep for half an hour, and gave us a ride back to the Buttery. They didn't have to stay with us all that time - I obviously wasn't going to die, or anything - but they acted as though this was a perfectly natural way to spend the afternoon, and that there was absolutely nothing worth going back to the event for.

While I won't say this was the kindest thing I've *ever* seen done in the SCA, it set a high standard I've tried to live up to ever since.

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Seigneur Jehan du Lac :

That's hard to say, because one of the great things about our Society is the kindness and generosity of our members. One that comes to mind is the way that Carolingians pitched in generously to replace the truck and tools of an ex-Carolingian who lost his livelihood to theft.

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Master John McGuire :

I have seen a King stop a procession to comfort a lost crying child, and then lead the procession off to security point instead of wherever they were originally going..

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Shi Hua Fu and Lady Yelizaveta Medvedeva :

We love the way SCAdians open their doors to one another. Even if you've never met the person before, the shared activity of the SCA is enough to bring them into your home and make them welcome. We've been both the recipient and the giver of this, and we hope it never changes. We've made some wonderful friends this way! It would actually be nice if we could make this easier using current technologies, like the servant matching board offered at Jehan's site, but for people open to and looking for overnight hosting.

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