Lord Conn, The Blue Eyed Irishman
Date: 1995/05/19
Author: John Groseclose
In Memoriam - A song composed by one Lord Connor MacStuart for Lord Conn McRory O'Brian. First performed in public at the last Estrella War, Connor agreed to let me post this as long as I forwarded all comments to him. Please e-mail replies to me with a subject including "Blue" to make it a bit easier.
For those unfamiliar with the tale, Kon Hawk (known in these Current Middle Ages as Conn McRory O'Brian) was stabbed to death during a "beer run" in a convenience store in Phoenix, Arizona, last August.
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To the tune "The Crack Was Ninety"
When I first came to Atenveldt,
Met a man, swore he was a Celt,
Talked a while, talked some more,
And formed a friendship deeply felt.
He taught me all about Chivalry,
Courtly grace and nobility,
Then he closed up school,
Broke all the rules,
And poured a shot for him and me.
So believe it if you can,
That's how I met
The Blue-Eyed Irishman!
With ice-blue eyes and bright red hair,
A smile that was always there,
Kissed him one time on a dare,
And he almost struck me then and there!
Loved his whiskey and his wine,
If ye didn't have wine then beer was fine,
Moved in with him for a time,
So the garb he wore was often mine.
Get my kilt back if you can,
I loaned it to
The Blue-Eyed Irishman!
His mother, Alex, loved him well,
For pride in him her heart did swell,
Stood beside him many a time,
But when he screwed up, gave him hell!
His lady, Celidgh, held him dear,
He loved her back, and kept her near
And tho their love was often queer,
Ye'd never call it boring!
They both did love that man,
That rovin', lovin'
Blue-Eyed Irishman!
By day he'd fight on the battlefield,
With armor bright, with sword and shield,
Stood in the van with sword in hand,
And before his wrath his foes would yield.
At night he'd revel, feast and sing,
Drink a little of everything,
In the morn he'd rise with bloodshot eyes,
And claim that he was dyin'!
Kill that mammoth if you can,
He's hangin' round
The Blue-Eyed Irishman!
For many moons I kept him near,
Together we could know no fear,
And when I cried he wiped my tears,
Or kicked me when required.
Against the whole wide world we stood,
Strengthened in our brotherhood,
We thought the fight we fought was good,
And we thought we'd live forever.
I'd always have that man,
I could never lose
The Blue-Eyed Irishman!
<slower>
But then one darkened August night,
He met with an assassin's knife,
They took his beer, they took his life,
And tore our hearts asunder.
He was the finest man I've known,
Still sometimes can't believe he's gone,
But in my heart he's still at home,
And he chuckles when I blunder.
And so I'm stuck with the man,
I'll always have
The Blue-Eyed Irishman!
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Words copyright 1995 by Brian Abernethy, aka Laird Connor MacStuart of Sundragon
Updated 08/29/02
Eight years later, Kon's still having an influence on people, and bringing them together - even when the only common link between them was knowing him.
On 08/11/02, I received an e-mail from OpalCat, whose real name I still don't know. She asked about Kon, and whether or not this webpage was indeed about the young man she'd known in high school.
I forwarded her contact information to a couple of other people, and told her I was sorry that she'd found out the way she did
On 08/17/02, the eighth anniversary of his murder, I went back and re-read the posts made to rec.org.sca about Kon, and found something that Joe Bethancourt posted, apparently written by Rick Cook.
Then, tonight, I noticed a series of hits in my webserver logs, with referral tags that I'd not seen before. The following link is what I found: http://opalcat.com/Misc/kon-hawk
Reading Brian's story reminded me of something that happened to us (Brian and I) some time later, after the murder, and after the funeral, when we'd gone down to Tucson/Tir Ysgithr for the Baron's War at the Pima County Fairgrounds. While packing up after the Baron's War, Brian asked me if we might stop by Kon's grave for a bit.
We did. I parked the car, we got out, and we didn't say much as we walked over to the grave, sat down, and I drank a Coke while Brian lit two cigarettes and placed one on the ground.
A coyote wandered past us, maybe fifty or sixty feet away.
When he finished his cigarette, Brian mumbled something like, "I still miss you, Kon," then got up and walked with me back to the car.
It wouldn't start. So while I got under the car and started checking things, Brian stood near the car and held my flashlight so I could see what I was doing.
The car started eventually - it wasn't the battery, and it didn't seem to be the starter solenoid. I never did figure out why the car wouldn't start. But we did notice farther down the road that Brian's almost-full pack of cigarettes had disappeared.
As I recall, Brian's words on the matter were to grin and say, "Even after he's dead, he's still stealing my smokes."
We all still miss you, Kon.
Updated 10/28/08:
From: Gabi Burtless
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:03 PM
To: [deleted]
Subject: Something I wanted to share with you
Hi
Before you open (if you open) the attached document.....let me tell you why
I wrote it and explain why I'm sharing it.
It started as 'homework' from therapy....writing the story, but as I did it,
it became something else...took on theatric proportions. So, it is my
catharsis....and therefore private, but it is also a story of a piece of all
of our lives--and a way of honoring his memory....and therefore deserves to
be shared, especially with people who are 'in' the story.
I hope it makes you laugh. I hope you have time and space to let it make
you cry. I know that Kon would approve of being remembered in music and
theater...it is only fitting for him.
You have permission to share this story if you feel the desire to do so...
I know that John still keeps a webpage with memorial stuff on it, and links
to other sites with things. I would be honored to have this offering
included with the rest. (and if anyone has the words to the song I wrote
all those years ago, angry as it was, I would love to have them....I
strangely have almost no memory of it...in fact, until Brian mentioned it to
me one day, I actually had no memory of having written it at all). {and
John, please don't ever take that page down...and bless you for making it in
the 1st place}
brightest blessings
gabi