First general outing...

[acstoon]

Alrighty then...

Aside from family events, rennfaires, celtic fests, Highlander games, I haven't worn my kilt in public.
Until now...

Last night, was the opening night of the annual carnival, in my boyhood town. Additionally, my niece was to be presented with a scholarship, from the town band, at the carnival. Mary & I decided we'd break our norm of avoiding this town/fair, and trek on over to the little burg.
So, I wore my plain black kilt, with a black sporran, belt, jump boots and a grey "Lake George Choppers" T-shirt. Wife said it was a good look for me ('course, she's a tad biased).

Now, a bit of background: this is a town of 1000 residents, very rural, very colloquial, and extremely set in their ways. Very stereotypical small-minded-blinders-on hick historical town stuff. The carnival is BIG time for a lot of these natives. Kind of comical, actually. Should write a book about the antics around there... nobody would believe it.

OK, wife and I park our folding chairs in front of the band shell, with the other fogeys. Quite a mixed bag of responses...mostly positive.

The younger crowd, 30 and under, barely noticed. When they did several asked if I was "into the rennfaire scene", and asked questions... thought it was cool.

The 30-50 crowd ranged from mildly intrigued, to snickering. I won't go into the breakdown, but it followed stereotypical expectations of who snickered and who was interested. Some questions regarding the "kilted scene"... Still mostly positive.

The older "deeply imbedded local gentry", however, were not amused. Most pointed, frowned, whispered & stared. In fact, there were several older gentlemen who "kept an eye on me" during the whole concert & presentation. None came forth to question me, but by their reactions, you'd swear I just denounced my country & burned a flag. Pretty amusing, when you consider the rich Scot-Irish history of the area.

So there you have it... Tony's 1st venture into the general public, as a kilted lad. Quite positive, overall... I'm hooked.

[Mr. MacDougall]

It sounds like a good night, on the whole, and my congratulations to your neice for winning a scholarship.

The older "deeply imbedded local gentry", however, were not amused.

Been there, done that... my sympathy.

[pbpersson]

My experience is similar in that people under 50 think it is cool, and people over 50 think it is....unusual. However, my 75-year-old former FIL surprised me by thinking it was cool.....

He is extremely conservative and was a pastor of a small church so he sort of caught me off guard. It might be because he is happy for me that I'm doing something I enjoy.

[ardchoille]

Last night, was the opening night of the annual carnival, in my boyhood town. Additionally, my niece was to be presented with a scholarship, from the town band, at the carnival.

Kudos to your niece on the scholarship.

The younger crowd, 30 and under, barely noticed. When they did several asked if I was "into the rennfaire scene", and asked questions... thought it was cool.

Cool indeed.

The older "deeply imbedded local gentry", however, were not amused. Most pointed, frowned, whispered & stared. In fact, there were several older gentlemen who "kept an eye on me" during the whole concert & presentation. None came forth to question me, but by their reactions, you'd swear I just denounced my country & burned a flag.

When this happens to me, and they do question me, I simply respond that "I wasn't put on this earth to win a popularity contest" ;)

[acstoon]

It sounds like a good night, on the whole, and my congratulations to your neice for winning a scholarship.

It was!
On her behalf, thank you...she's a good kid.

When this happens to me, and they do question me, I simply respond that "I wasn't put on this earth to win a popularity contest" ;)

No big deal... I took it as a source of amusement.
Their loss... makes me wonder what kind of wonderful things and experiences they've missed out on... kinda sad.

[MysticMead]

having fun with the locals is always a good time... the shocked reactions are some of the best.. wait until you have a car stop and the driver stare in disbelief

congrats on making it out into public... it'll become a regular thing for you now.. and the more you do it, the less you notice the odd stares..or at least the less you think about them

[acstoon]

having fun with the locals is always a good time... the shocked reactions are some of the best.. wait until you have a car stop and the driver stare in disbelief

congrats on making it out into public... it'll become a regular thing for you now.. and the more you do it, the less you notice the odd stares..or at least the less you think about them

Messing with the locals has always been a habit for me... my family was not from the area, so we were always "outsiders". Thank goodness.

As goofy as I am, stares are nothing new to me. I've always walked to a different beat... this is just another chapter.

[Riverkilt]

Keep on kiltin'

Soon you'll get comments when you're not.

Ron

[Perldog007]

Sounds like a great first outing. If you really like the stares permit me to be bold enough to recommend:

1. Advanced Auto Parts

2. Food Lion

3. Dollar General Store

4. The Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or TGI Friday's.

5. Tractor Supply Store or Southern States.

Happy Kilting -- Doug

[acstoon]

Hmmm... someone has thrown the gauntlet down ...

1. Advanced Auto Parts
Haven't yet... but it's tempting.
2. Food Lion
stopped there for a bottle of water on the way to the carnival... no reactions... I think they're all lobotomized
Hmmm... come to think of it... my ex-wife works for Food Lion.
3. Dollar General Store
Show me a "normal" person in there... go on... show me! I'll wait...
4. The Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or TGI Friday's.
Will wait until I see a busload of AARP members going in.
5. Tractor Supply Store or Southern States.
I don't have a deathwish!