My first experience with bagpipes and the kilt was probably "Wee Willie Winkie" on some afternoon TV broadcast when I was a kid. This only planted a seed. In 1998, a buddy named Buchanan said that there was a Highland games that August; so, we went and saw those in kilties as idiot-fools. But, this did not stop me from a buying a couple of souvenirs, such as a MacIntyre mug. Not long after, while I was working on my genealogy, I discovered that my great grandfather had indicated to one of his sons that we were in North America because a distant McIntyre was at Culloden. This turned on a light bulb. So, I started reading about Culloden, the Jacobites, etc.; the I ordered my first kit (kilt, sporran, hose, flashes, and belt) and went to the Salado Highland Games and Clan Gathering in November 1999. I've been a goner ever since. I started playing the pipes about a month later. I now have 9 kilts. Here's a pic of that day at Salado that remains one of my favorites (I'm on the far left):