So, are you a French monk?

Okay, it's just us here right now, so let me tell you the story of my online persona.

Many long years ago, I was in Latin class in high school. We had several fun events, and dressed in togas, and other silly nonsense. One of my class partners was involved with the local branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, or "SCA" for short. The SCA is a group of people who have events dressed in clothes of the middle ages, and have medieval crafts, and feasts, and so on. My class partner suggested it would be fun for me to come up with a persona, and come to my first function and introduce myself, so I thought about it, and decided I was to be the third son of a noble, who had been sent to become a church cleric, as a way to get an education and further myself. I was interested in both French and Latin as languages, and in the history of the thirteenth century, especially the rise of the monastic orders.
I made myself a costume, a Franciscan monk's robe, and wrote a letter of introduction to the local leader, in French.
Well, the meeting was a success, and I kept the persona, thinking of myself as a French monk, as time went on. I later joined a Norman/French household, and the lady of that household was introducing me to some other members: "...and here's Davide, he's our French Friar!", to immediate guffaws of laughter. (No, I do not make beignets... I do love them, though.)

Needless to say, the punny name stuck. I embraced it, as it was memorable, unique, and descriptive. Once the internet sprang into being, and I needed a serviceable 'handle', I chose to use it, and so most of my online friends know me by this appellation.

So, then, why the Abbey? An abbey to me speaks of sheltered space, a safe place away from the worldly hurts that surround us, a sanctuary in more than one sense of the term. They have also traditionally been havens for learning and education, and were centers for many entertainments of the day.

That's what I want my blog-space to be, a safe place to discuss politics, or religion, or sexuality, or any other hot-button topics without descending into the madness, or casting vitriolic statements at each other. I also want to try to inform and educate myself and others, and share cool bits of entertainment and knowledge as I encounter them spread throughout cyberspace.

I greet you with a warm hug, and welcome you again to Frenchfriar's Abbey.