Made a kilted convert at a picnic!

[tripleblessed]

Kilt nights at pubs don't appeal to my wife and I because we don't drink alcohol and we feel funny going to such places. When the local Scottish society goes to restaurants, we could possibly join them then.

I don't drink either; never have. No drugs, no cigarettes. Just me. For my own reasons. See the threads about Atlanta kilt nights, Burns suppers, Stone Mountain Highland Games, and pregames gatherings. You'll see me scattered all through, mostly in my clergy tartan semi-traditional from USA Kilts. For me, if I eliminated all the places alcohol is served, I would have few places to go, and few folk to go with. The choices of others do not require me so to choose, and my abstinence sometimes creates frank and interesting discussions some have found helpful. Or boring. Occasionally leads to philosophical and/or theological conversations; often wander into scientific and health topics. I have a chance to learn stuff I might never find on my own, and likewise offer not-well known research and history, etc.

In other words, I go and enjoy from my perspective, they from theirs. Any time a Scottish society function of any kind
happens anywhere, alcohol is likely an accompaniment. I pass for the same reasons I pass when it's served in some churches and church functions: I don't partake. In alcohol. Fun, I partake in large amounts for the health benefits.

[Pegasys]

if everyone partook there would be no one to keep score ... seriusly ... god bless those who can be faithful to abstinence ... I would be unfaithful even to the idea

[tripleblessed]

if everyone partook there would be no one to keep score

That was sort of one of my original reasons. Aside from the folk hanging on to the toilet for dear life, and, to me,
the alcohol smelling almost as bad going in as it did coming out, I actually considered that at least one of us should
be able to remember, the next morning, to whom we needed to apologize. Not quite keeping score, but sorta.
Although we do know that a kid I graduated with had 27 tall boys in a row, and by the time they found more, he was
bored with it. As we were at the beach, the next morning he was out in the surf by 7:00am. Then there was the guy
across the hall from me at Florida (1967) that started a bet about drinking margaritas having already had 8. Someone
who didn't know him bet $20.00 he could drink more. So, already down, he started even. The stranger picked his 19th,
looked pale, set it down, turned and threw up. Our guy shrugged, picked up the stranger's 19th and 20th, downed his
20th of the bet, making 30 in all. Then got in his car and gave the new guy a ride. Much funnier to him than me, but he
made $40.00 on it, and I didn't.