Surly's Soap Box

Psalm 82:3-4



3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

4 Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

"Ye have heard that it has been said, ‘Thou shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."

-Jesus

"The Bible is clear here: I am to love my neighbor as myself, in the manner needed, in a practical way, in the midst of the fallen world, at my particular point of history. This is why I am not a pacifist. Pacifism in this poor world in which we live - this lost world - means that we desert the people who need our greatest help."

- Francis Schaeffer

I've recently taken to wearing a kilt. My wife thinks it's some sort of midlife crisis, but I tell her that's what the motorcycle was for.

No crisis. No gender identity issues. Just a celebration of my heritage and a statement about my affinity to Celtic Christianity. Not the freaky, earth worshiping, new age version that many would like it to be, but the monastic, Christ-centered, community based variety . But more on that down the road.

So I've worn my kilt, or rather, one of my kilts (I have two), out and about. I've gone shopping, gone to the doctor, visited friends, worn one to church a couple times. I've dressed up, and I've worn just a t-shirt. The reaction has, over all been positive. I've had folks come up to my wife and tell her handsome I am (and that's not a compliment I hear often!), and I've received a few questioning and disapproving glances. But you know, I'm having fun, and my wife and daughter enjoy it as well. Of course, the Wife wasn't sure at first, but when strangers make positive comments, well, she's come around.

When I decide to buy a kilt, I did a lot of research. Much to my surprise, there are a few kilt distributors here in the Twin Cities area:

Stillwater Kilts
The Celtic Croft
The Frugal Corner

Who would of thought there was interest in such things here in the land of Swedes and Lutefisk! I'm sure haggis won't be replacing lutefisk at the Christmas table, but there seems to be a lot of interest in things Celtic. We have the Renaissance Festival(slow loading), Minnesota Scottish Fair, Irish Fair, St. Andrews Society. There are even a few bars that host Kilt Nights, where you get a free beer just for showing up in a kilt! It might take a while, but I could eventually recoup the money I spent on the kilts and accessories with what I save on beer! So every time I go, I just tell my wife that I'm paying off my kilt!

There is actually a large number of guys (and a number of large guys) out there wearing kilts, and not just to the Highland Games. I found this forum, X Marks The Scot that offers tons of information and advice to those who don the kilt.

One of the reasons I wrote this post is to show you this:


Yup. That's Alton Brown wearing a kilt. Cool, huh?

Here's Samuel Jackson:



That is all.