Postby Guest » Thu Feb 12, 2004 11:59 am
Hi John,
No, none of the Oregon members have contacted me yet. But that's okay, I didn't expect them to anyway as they are a bit far and the logistics are a concern. As an example, Portland is about a three hour drive from me (one way) plus it's couple of hours longer to Eugene and concider it a day trip to Roseburg in the south. I figure that at some point it would be great to hook up with some of them in the future as the time spent is out of the ordinary for a family man like myself for anything regular. Getting together with them will most likely have to center around seminars and such when the available time and money coincide.
In the mean time, I think I'm either going to have to make a lot of trips to Seattle (only an hour and a half drive) once in a while and create something out of nothing within my own area. Every one knows there are many folks out there, in most communities, who have always had a desire to do just what we are doing, but don't know how to find out about it or know where to look. If I dig deep enough, I know I can find those individuals and give them an opportunity to get involved. Opening my doors a little and getting the word out is the key; like putting out fliers or ads in the paper. That also means I'll have to devise a way to filter out the kooks and properly inform the misinformed. I will most likely take an example from my old Sensei when I was studying Kung Fu. His own method was slow, but the results were very satisfying. It may take me a while, but a mark of success (something you yourself can measure this by) is when I apply to become a full member of your organization. It's only a matter of time and properly focused effort.
I want to thank you again though, for a few things. For setting up this site and organization, for helping out as best you can, and for giving me my start on this road when I bought your book "Medieval Swordsmanship" back in mid 2000. Many of the sections are of great use to me.
Cheers!
Ken
