Ah... well... I've been asked this often lately, the more I wear my kilt.

As long back as I remember, our Scottish ancestors were frequently mentioned... mainly on my mother's side. Both her parents had Scottish ancestry and were proud of it, though they didn't speak much about it. I was intrigued and always had more questions than they had patience to answer. When my grandparents moved to Dunedin, Florida, I became a regular visitor to the Scottish shop there, eventually driving my parents nuts until they agreed to buy me a practice chanter and some flashes, which I took to wearing with my soccer socks... much to the amusement of my coach who happened to be a Glaswegian. When I explained to him my desire to visit Scotland he'd just smile and say, "It's a beautiful place, but it's bldy cold! Why do you think I'm here in Atlanta?!" Needless to say, I was undeterred.

Certainly, I'm a mutt, like many Americans. I've got several strong Scottish threads in the family tapestry, but they entwine with Norman French, Dutch, German and even one Rodriquez. I don't know if I can explain why I was so driven to learn more about my Scottish ancestors in particular and Scotland in general, but it's simply been a passion since I was in knee-britches.

I've always wanted a kilt and not any kilt, but a Scottish-made, traditional kilt. My insistence on this as a boy was met with polite smiles and a pat on the head. Frankly, the demands of fatherhood and career did push the desire a bit onto the back burner, but two recent developments finally brought that old desire to the surface and set me on the road to kilt wearing. One was simply financial: I could finally afford not only a kilt, but the traditional accouterments as well. The other was reaching a place in life where the opinion of others, (i.e... "why is he wearing that? Isn't that a bit affected?") just don't really matter much to me any more.

What I didn't know until I began wearing the kilt, was how comfortable I would find it to be. And again, not just physical comfort, but a sense of "fit" that is hard to explain. My wife, at first dubious, took one look and said two things, "You were born to wear that," and "Damn, you better stay away from the ladies when you're in that kilt!" Needless to say, her response didn't dim my interest.

So now I wear a kilt for most special occasions, and formal wear situations. I wear a kilt to work once or twice a week, fairly often to church and, of course, to Highland Games and other family reunions. I certainly understand why some question it. I can understand why a native Scot my scratch his head over it a bit. Although, I have to say, I've encountered Scottish visitors to our city on several occasions now while kilted and each time they've been very complimentary and happy to see a "proper kilt" being worn.

The bottom line now: I wear the kilt with pride, comfort and a sense of tradition and connection to my family and heritage that I find to be very satisfying. And I've found a traditional kilt to be a flexible, durable and beautiful basis for a varied wardrobe. I now can't imagine ever setting kilts aside.