I had a friend in town yesterday, so we were out and about doing the tourist thing. Out of the blue we decided to go see USS Constitution (the world's oldest floating commissioned warship; the oldest by 30 years is HMS Victory, but she's drydocked). The trip turned interesting when we got there and discovered that we had to go through security (which makes sense since we were boarding a US warship). I explained what a sgian dubh was, and asked if security could hold onto it for me. No dice. One of the Navy personnel at the checkpoint instructed me to leave it in my sporran while I was on board. That done we enjoyed our tour of Constitution. It was interesting going up and down the ladders in the midst of a large tour group....

Next we visited USS Cassin Young, a decommissioned WWII-era destroyer which served through the Korean War. Again with the ladders! The USFS guide commented that the problem is usually with women in the summertime. I bet they have even more of a problem, since their skirts are probably far shorter, and don't have all the pleats of a kilt.

Andrew.