My Retinue

We all have our retinue. I have mine. In school I studied the royal retinues of kings, queens, pharaohs’, heroes and gods. The existence of royal retainers and attendants is as old as kingship itself. Kings and monarchs can’t travel without the trappings of state; pomp, protection and council. In olden times, they had far more magnificence than they have now; but even in these days we see plenty of the royal retinue surrounding our leaders, celebrities and stars. What are MySpace, Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, and others if not places to expand and develop a modern retinue.

For awhile I played a computer game called Rome-Total War. I believe there is a sequel out now and I have to check that out sometime. RomeTW was a historically based strategic game where you attempt to conquer the world through political, economic, cultural or of course military prowess. These efforts were assisted by your leaders; generals, spies, diplomats, priests, etc… As these icons of your empire won more battles, recruited more conscripts, subdued the conquered with mercy or wrath, they attracted attendants, supporters, professionals, servants, advisors and partners, sycophants, scribes, crooks and craftsmen. Their retinue.

In the game a leaders retinue could also grow by improving city works; building churches, temples, markets, harbors, taverns, guilds, etc… and then living in and around the people and cultures that tend to accompany the institutions these buildings represented. Over time and with deeds and accomplishment mounting, leaders begin to attract to them those whom their actions reflect. And this retinue of followers increasingly influenced and represented the leaders, personality, quality and essence. Some in a retinue provided benefit, others didn’t.

I have my own retinue. Sometimes my retinue is a hodge-podge of merry pranksters, and other times they are stern voices, trusted confidants, experts, statesmen, volunteers, or humanitarians. Sometimes my own personal retinue is an experience, an event, an association, a journey (foreign and domestic) or an even a simple object. My bike is an important part of my retinue. As in the game, my retinue has rose from where I come, the things I’ve done, and the environments I’ve surrounded myself in. My retinue doesn’t traipse along behind me waiting for me to lay waste to an innocent barbarian village. Nor do they follow me shutter-clicking like the paparazzi. I'm no king, no prince, no royal. Still, I've got a retinue and they are there daily, at my side, within me, guiding.

I love to imagine and sometimes even boast that I “keep my own council”. That is true. And it is also crap. I consult my retinue all the time. Unlike a traditional retinue (“a body of retainers in attendance upon an important personage”) in the iron days of courts and kings a modern retinues can shift from moment to moment. Some of my retinue are alive, some are dead. I have many kids in my retinue too, even though I don’t have of my own. Many of my retinue reside in books or live in a distant past, or on the playgrounds of my childhood. Some of them I met during short brief campaigns, other have been around much more consistently and much more frequently than others. Some I’m not sure exist at all outside of the brief images I carry of them, the words they imparted to me, and what my memory does to them through time.

There is no right mix or magic number for a retinue. There is no way to predict outcomes and influences. My retinue tends to change, ebb and flow, contract and constrict. You can travel with an entourage of carpenters, prostitutes and fishermen, with a bus full of dope smoking groupies or with the "best & brightest" and there is no guarantee how you are going to turn out. You can travel alone with only the faint guiding words of a highland Wiseman as your only attendant or bury yourself deep within the matrix of your hometown friends, church and family. One person might end up thinking widely and the other narrowly, one enbittered and the other free. A good retinue doesn’t assure success; only that you won’t be alone. A well-rounded family, group of friends and first rate education doesn’t guarantee victory or peace or 100% correct decision making. But they sure do help when all those things go awry.

The first people in your retinue are a dice roll, your parents. You don’t get to choose them. Second are your brothers and sisters. Don’t get to choose them either. They bring with them all their retinue; wives, husbands and kids. And you end up with them too. They, happily and without exception, are the core of my retinue. Them aside here are some others,

My Retinue:

1. kids (long list)


2. my co-workers


3. my tomato plants and herbs


4. Jesse Cool & Jonah Cool


5. Louda-Bey


6. GENO


7. Dominic and Daniella and Cloe (and Curtis)


8. Keith and Carol


9. the Axemen


10. Valerie Barr


11. Justine Cassell


12. Erin Buxton


13. the judean desert


14. Ann Redelfs


15. Fran Allen
16. Suzanne


17. Karen


18. Xicanista


19. Tri-Team Peninsula


20. Hagia Sofia


21. Shirely


22. Sam


23. Education, education, education


24. Anita Borg


25. Pondok Pesantren Teburieng


26. Grace Hopper


27. you


28. Madame Clicquot


29. Tim Aline


30. Fuk


31. my history wall charts


32. Farmers Markets


33. Flea St.


34. Pak Tasirp


35. Gus Dur & Wahid Hassim


36. living writers, artist, musicians and poets (a long list)


37. dead writers, artist, musicians and poets (a longer list)


38. Todd Brown, Clyde Davidson, Dale Ruch, Jeff Simpson, etc…


39. my rice cooker


40. Tanja


41. Frisbees


42. Bapak Irfan


43. my bike

All good things, Wig