There is a halfway decent Chinese place down on Main Street, not to bad if you ask them to cook stuff the Chinese way, keep the veggies crispy and cut back on all of the salt.

Every time I go in there during the day, the waitresses giggle, and I don't think they do it in a bad way. Things are said in Chinese, things I am told that can't be repeated in front of English speaking customers. Bad things meant in a good way.

I went in there tonight, it was crowded. The waitresses were fine, a whole gaggle of them coming out of nowhere to catch a peek. My wife was with me. So the giggles were at a minimum.

The customers were another story. One guy dropped his fork on his plate, a few rude people said things loud enough to hear... Not bad things, but just talking, pointing, and staring. I hate to say it, but it does get old at times. You just want to get on with life.

Walking through to be seated, I met with a lot of wide staring eyes.

The lady I usually deal with to make sure my food is just right wasn't there, but the waitress was fantastic. She made very clear instructions on how I wanted my food prepared. Low salt, not fried with other meat dishes, etc. Crispy veggies.

She brought the spring rolls, the crab rangoon, the hot mustard, and asked if we wanted anything else, and I said "chopsticks." She was, well, wide eyed with suprise.

The food was wonderful, and when she came back to refill our drinks, she saw me eating with the chopsticks. She sort of stopped for a moment, looked at me, her eyes narrowed a bit, and she seemed thoughtful. She said in somewhat broken English, "You very well traveled, good cultured, good educated man. I am very pleased to have served you tonight"

I left a good tip when I left.

Walking home, I thought about what she said... The kilt is a very strong cultural statement, I mean, it is, really. Nothing says Scottish like a kilt. I am not sure, but I don't think she expected somebody with such a strong outward appearance of Scottish culture to appreciate Asian culture, to have knowledge of the food, or how to use chopsticks. Certainly nobody else in there was using them. I started thinking about how it must be for them to have to adapt their culture to American standards, like overcooking the veggies, oversalting the food, stuff like that, to cater to a group of people that in general don't appreciate the fine and subtle grace of their culture. As I walked home with my wife, I begin to realise as I thought about the folks here, that post on this board, and something we all seem to have in common... Culture. I don't mean culture with boundries, I mean culture. A lot of us here are a bit more refined than the common man. (Or woman) We're artistic, were musical, we have appreciation for things that a lot of other people lack... I strongly suspect that kilt wearing is an outward display of a much greater internal need that we have to let the world that we stand apart from the crowd. I think we latch on to it as a symbol, for more than what it represents, more than what it does for us, it forces people to deal with us in one form or another. It is a brand, a marker, a sign.

Almost home, when some knuckleheads shouted insults and obcenities out their car window, I realised that I had just bumped in to another culturally refined person and we had shared a space together, and hearing the shouts of the cretins, I realised that I was once again sharing space with people who were obviously not culturally refined.

My conclusion, that I have reached as I sit here drinking coffee, is that a kilt is an invitation, one we wear, to encourage others of the refined sense to come share space with us.