Respite

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a "Rennie." That's sort of like being a "Trekkie" except one is a fan of Renaissance Faires, not Star Trek.

For most of my adult life I've been a huge fan of the Bristol Renaissance Faire, formerly King Richard's Faire, in Bristol, Wisconsin (www.renfair.com).

I'm a Level Three member of the Friends of the Faire Organization, and attend most of the Summer weekends in costume.

The Friends of the Faire is affiliated with the people who own the Faire, and members get discounts, a members-only garden to hang out in, special parking in the shade, etc. Almost all of the Friends attend in period-correct costume. Being Scots-Irish, I attend in full kilt as one of Her Majesty's Highland peasants.

It's tons of fun for me, and is a day in the fresh air away from telephones, computers, fax machines and the cares that otherwise fill up my time. I often take guests, mostly people like myself who appreciate the healing effect of fantasy, and who have the ability to not to take themselves too seriously.

I do a lot of my Christmas shopping too. There are many artists at the Faire who run shops selling one-of-a-kind things that you simply can't get elsewhere.

This season's Faire will end on Labor Day and I've really enjoyed it. Perhaps because there has been so much stress in the world due to the global economic problem, the respite has been welcome. The performers have been unusually good this year, as has the food. Everyone seems to be making a special effort to make this Faire especially grand.

Our world is so full of stress, and the human brain so ill-equipped to handle it, that I think all of us need mechanisms for providing respite for ourselves. Whether it's a hobby, a sport or a Star Trek convention, we all need to find ways to "get away from it all" and keep ourselves sane.