It is funny and sometimes sad the ways people sometimes react. This is not sad stuff.

PART ONE
I go to work kilted just about every day, and as a teacher of 7th & 8th graders, it can get really interesting. It's especially fun on parent conference nights. I work in South Central Los Angeles, and most of my kids' families are from Mexico or Central America. Many parents don't speak English, and it's really hilarious to hear my jaded, seen-it-all students explain to their Spanish-speaking parents why their teacher is wearing what they think is a skirt. The parents' eyes sorta get really wide, and they shrug and ask how their kid is doing in my class.


PART TWO
Last week I had to go to court (don't EVER throw a lit cigarette out of your car window in Los Angeles - it cost me $341) and this older latina woman saw me.

"C'mere c'mere c'mere c'mere!" she said.
"Yes?" I wasn't sure if maybe she was one of my students' parents.
"What is theees? Is skirt? Why you wear?" she asked as she plucked gingerly at the hem.
"It's a kilt. It's from Scotland. It's for men."
"For men?"
"Yes," I explained slowly. "It's a kilt and men wear it. Not women."
"Oh," she laughed, "Que buena! Que buena!"
She walked into the elevator, and I could hear her laughing as it descended.