A Few Words About Merdwin the Mediocre

our humble Dragonmaster has been asked to say a few words about a dear friend and fellow Mage, one who, quite simply, has given me more merriment and happiness than I could ever hope to possess. Please be introduced, then, if I have not done so already, to the one and only (and, thank goodness, the one genuine article!) Merdwin the Mediocre!

Combining elements of audience participation, verbal and visual humor, and just plain old madcap mayhem for Mortals from 10 to toothless, Scott Payne has long been an inspiration to a good many of us Magic-users. That, combined with the fact that he is a very sensible and devout Christian, is obviously the result of his upbringing, courtesy of his two biggest fans (other than myself, of course), his dear parents, Chuck and Debbie!

In his more than 15 years' worth of magical misadventuring, Merdwin, wearing his traditional purple Wizard's robes --- with his familiar sign-off "Ta da!" cleverly sewn on to the back of the left shoulder thingy --- has amazed, amused, bamboozled and often befuddled audiences young and old --- and the twist is that they love it! Whether it's the New York Renaissance Faire Sterling Forest, King Richard's Faire, the Great Lakes Medieval Faire, the annual Tuesday in the Park Celebrations in his home shire of Schenectady, the nearby Waterfront Farmers' Market in Troy, Albany's best events, from the annual Tulip Festival to First Night and its sister New Year's Eve party, Chatham Village Last Nite, the Mediocre One has never failed to enchant and delight children of all ages and forms. Indeed, few Mages have never been so remarkably scatterbrained, and incredibly proud of it.

But the Merdwin the Mediocre that I know is the one who, each September, takes time to journey to our delightful Shire of Manhattan. Here, as the living image of the Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park, Merdwin entertains the young and old of our Twin Kingdoms of Washington upon the Heights and the Inner Wood... and does so with a balance of silliness and complexity unequaled by few Mages in the New York Realm. Believe me, dear goodly gentles, not since the late and beloved Jack Adams has one Magic-user so eternally burned his presence into mine own Wizardly person.

Merdwin.com remains under a constant state of re-construction, but ye can always reach the Mediocre One by sending him an e-pygeon at wizbizniz@webtv.net; or, if ye prefers, ye may send thy missives to me purple-clad partner in Magecraft by means of ye olde slowe methode --- I believe that would be P.O. Box 3301, Schenectady, NY 12303.

Merdwin, dear friend and Brother Mage, I, Blackwolf, your humble Dragonmaster, cannot place into words how much you have meant to me over these many long years. We are both incredibly wacky each in our own different but delightful ways, but we share a common bond: we both enjoy sharing with mere Mortals the magic of Imagination, and more to the point, we're both determined, as I usually say, to have a spectacular lot of fun without so much as being malicious. It is that, and all the adventures you and I have shared, that has allowed our friendship to endure; and I hope we have a good many more years together, for as long as the Eternals will let us!

With love, your faithful friend and foolish old beetlehead,

Master Blackwolf

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