I just got to spend the entire week without pants, first time ever! I brought a pair of jeans but they never made it out of the suitcase. My wife, son and I went to attend a conference on ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in the Windy City (16oz wool, good in wind....SWK Standard, baaaaaaad!), and had a few days to visit relatives in the Springfield/lincoln/Champaign region.

Flying kilted was an eyeopener. Probably the one place where I was wishing I wore pants! The way down I wore an Apocokilt....big mistake. Too many snaps (I thought having detachable pockets was SMART...) combined with metal buttons on my sweater. Out comes the wand....the lunge...oh yeah, forgot about my medicine bag I wear (has a concho on it)....sheesh! Yup, metal money clip on my wallet (covered in leather) fooled me....On the way back, I wore a trad. kilt. 3 buckles, (this'l be a cinch)...."sir, please step over here"... out comes the wand.... Metal buttons on my denim shirt....forgot about the medicine bag (again)....3 buckles....yes, that beep by my bits is a button on my shirt tail!....yes, of course, a pat down is fine....I have to get smarter about this (first time flying kilted....)

Once there, things were great! Family didn't quite know what to make of the camo Apocokilt, but ooohed and ahhhhed over the tartan kilts, so stuck with them for the duration. Visited my wife's grandmother in the nursing home and found out she has McRea in her family! Anna didn't know at all. What a pleasant suprise! Her grandmother was so pleased to hear that I had a McRea kilt at home. I was sorry I hadn't put it in (almost had). Really made her day. She probably asked 6 times where I had gotten my kilt....course it was teh first time she had asked each time.

I met more Scots wearing the kilt this trip. In the Lincoln Presidential Library, I had been there all of 5 minutes when a woman came up to me and said how much she enjoyed seeing the kilt, and they were Scottish. One docent talked with me a while, also Scottish ancestry and a St Andrews Society member...fellow in the airport ID'd himself as a Gordon and was thrilled to see the kilt. The best was TWICE out of nowhere in Chicago, I got complimented by Scottish nationals on the street. One fellow, walked over and shook my hand. He told me he was from Edinborough and really loved seeing someone wearing a kilt over here!

I swear, too, that I got better service from people everywhere I went. At the hotel, the bellman and doormen seemed to really go out of their way. They really loved the kilt, and were extra attentive the whole time. My wife said they were friendly and courteous to EVERYONE, but she didn't see them going as far out of their way as they did for us. She noticed this effect else where as well, and tells me that I don't see even HALF the smiles, waves and good comments that the kilt brings out. 'Course, she misses the "nice legs" comments and probably best to keep it that way! I think she enjoys watching others reactions and telling me about it later.

anywho, great week! Not looking forward to going back to work and having to don pants again....I gotta work on this