Musings About Chivalry

_ [Shakespeare] In my little corner of the globe, when we talk chivalry, we talk medieval times and knights with a special code of honor. Courtesy, kindness, and valor were the rule, not the exception. I suppose Tristan’s Spamalot knight was a little of that, but in this case I’m talking 21st century chivalry – something that has nothing to do with shields, swords, and lots of chain mail.
     Just for fun, let’s start with our own Spamalot knight and his adorable sense of adventure as he led Nancy through, in my opinion, the most entertaining dance of the season (along with Carson and the lovely Anna and their Moves Like Jagger Cha-Cha of course). Our chivalrous knight had a spring in his step and a song in his heart, and he made us all smile. Bottom line? Sir Tristan just flat out brought it.
     Somewhere along the way, I read that a big part of chivalry was being kind to all women. There you have it. Not that we’ve watched hours of video or anything (okay, so we have), but a couple of things stand out. During the results show of Week 7, as the bottom 2 couples descended the steps to await their fate, Tristan politely lifted the length of Kym’s dress that was trailing behind her to make sure she didn’t fall – and he held it until they reached the end of the steps. Then there was the paparazzi video (yep, watched those too) of a week 9 rehearsal where we saw a very tired Karina struggling with 2 large dance bags as she arrived at the studio. Tristan was speaking with the paparazzi (graciously as always) and Karina was clearly exhausted and not having the best day. Tristan simply put his arm around her, kissed her cheek, and slid one bag off of her shoulder and carried it himself. Dang it, the man is a gentleman. Those kinds of things might not seem like much, but along with his extraordinary kindness to the paparazzi, I would say that’s pretty special. And rare. (Note: He and Nancy were always, always kind and polite to the paparazzi as they took time to speak with them).
     So I’m going to have to say it. Chivalry isn’t dead after all.
              
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[SWAT] There seems to be a dry spell going on in the manners department, especially when it comes to the male population. What happened to the days when a man would stand when a woman enters the room, or hold the door open for her as they enter a building or open her car door. Or if you want to go further back, I can tell you by my excessive watching of BBC and Jane Austen movies that once introduced to a woman in a social setting, he would bow to the woman, and she would then curtsy. Wouldn't that make things interesting in the world's current state of blatant rudeness and poor behavior? How great would it be if people bowed to each other upon meeting?
Well I guess if y’all are wondering what I'm getting at here, it's very simple. Tristan MacManus would be the first man to do the bowing if he thought that it was the proper behavior. And yes, instead of curtsying back, I think my knees would buckle and I'd fall over. From what I've seen of the man and how he treats women, he's as close to a Mr. Darcy as I have ever seen (well, maybe with more of a Bingley sort of happy personality).
     Not only have I witnessed the chivalrous behavior that Shakespeare mentioned, but I also recall a very specific segment from The View, where Nancy and Tristan made their way up onto the stage for their interview and along the way said their pleasantries....pleasantries being that Tristan has to kiss every woman on the panel. After all that was said and done I noticed that Tristan still did not actually sit down until all of the ladies, including Nancy, were comfortably seated. More men should take notes from Sir Tristan.