The Kilted Turning Point.

[Dreadbelly]

Where do I begin...

I do not know.

Hmm.

I have noticed a change as of late. It has been a slow and subtle change, so I didn't notice it at first. But it has come to my attention.

The close area around me has accepted me in a kilt. Most of the shopkeepers know me now... And know me well. They are glad to see me in their stores, browsing, I am a living display for customers to look at. At the different places to eat, I am treated differently. Better usually. For a while there, some places would, hmm, how do I say this... Some places treated me rather glacially. Some places I do not go back to at all, like the Atlanta Bread Company located downtown. Never, ever going back to the ABC in downtown Greenville after what happened there. If I ever did go back, it would be to find that nasty ******** that said what he did, and I would gladly reach down his throat, grab his spleen, and yank him inside out. And then I would do terrible things.

I am rapidly gaining status as a local living landmark. People honk and wave when they drive by... At least the locals to the downtown. Other people still holler stuff about my sexual orientation out the window. I have been on the local news a couple of times now. When they are downtown filming a story, they can't resist themselves if I am around. They capture me on film. The police know me. I am generally respected and even well liked now... The coffee shop knows me all to well. New trainees when they are working always do a double take, and the manager always informs them with a smile that they never need to see my ID when I pay with my card, because my tartan is legal form of identification. (And that always confuses the poor trainees) One day I shall go in there wearing a solid and their heads might explode.

Acceptance.

That's a funny concept to me. I have finally found the skin I was meant to be in... My real self. And by accepting my self, I am finally finding some small measure of acceptance in the people around me. They can see that this is clearly the real me... I dunno how to put it and I am prolly flapping my gums senselessly here.

I finally feel like I belong here. It's strange.

[Rob Wright]

It is a funny feeling isn't :mrgreen:

Rob

[sav]

Congrats, Dread! Acceptance is a powerful thing...As much as I harped about how much I didn't care what anyone else thought of me, when I realized that noone even looks at me differently anymore, it was a great feeling! :mrgreen:
~Sav

[GMan]

Oh yes acceptance, know that term well. From one neighborhood landmark to another, it is a good feeling! They just know that if you are comfortable with what you are wearing, then you must be able to come across as an OK guy.

Kilts do bring that out in those that wear them. Oh what a wonderful feeling.

Thanks for sharing!

[Riverkilt]

Well....are you still carrying around a cast iron pan?

Know what you mean. I'm still the only one in my little town of 6,000 in a kilt. Still get comments, "the look"...and better, acceptance, when around town.

Ron

[jfellrath]

Congrats on the new feeling, Dread. It's good to see how finding yourself can bring about such changes.

I am a firm believer in the idea that people who TRULY can embrace who they are become the happiest and most accepted by those around them. If you are perfectly comfortable in who you are, people can pick up on that and will generally respond favorably.

The odd detractor (in your example, the hill-jacks who bravely question your sexuality from a moving vehicle) is obviously NOT a person who can embrace who they themselves are, and can therefore be ignored (or clubbed around with kitchenware, if possible).

As Jack Palance said in some odd cologne commercial at one point: "Confidence is very sexy. Don't you think?"