Just this weekend I was in attendance at a local gardening seed-exchange event. For the record, I was not the only kilted man there! Because the organizers were completely overwhelmed, and there were some problems with the building -- some rooms that were off-limits had been included in the event reservation, which meant shuffling people and tables and chairs up and down stairs and setting up in hallways -- at any rate, I was there and strong so I did what I could.

As I was setting up one room, a woman who was going to present looked at my kilt (UK Workman) and said, "I like that...(pause)...skirt you're wearing." Some other people nearby quickly told her it was a kilt. I just assumed she had to hunt for the right word, as for some people "kilt" is not a word they need every day. She was getting flustered that she might have offended me, so I just said, "Well, you're close. If I were wearing anything under it, it WOULD be a skirt." She started laughing fit to bust and suddenly everything was OK.

Now, I was decidedly "contemporary" in my "look" -- runners, short sox, Workman, and a sweatshirt embroidered with "Rhubarbarian" in Olde English script. More people commented on the sweatshirt than the kilt, actually. Hey...ya play to the crowd.

Later in the afternoon, I had a very nice nursing student whose group is organizing a community garden as a development project ask me, "Would you be our mascot?" I guess it turned out pretty well, all things considered.