Have You Ever Had Your Tartan Disputed By A Stranger?

[David White]

Being raised around a Quaker and Mennonite community as a child, that's
really funny!

Yup, me to in the Shenandoah Valley-even went to Mennonite H.S.

[Detroitpete]

Scene at theatre bar during 'intermission' between musical groups.

Guy: Whose kilt is that?

Me: Ummm.. mine.

Guy: No I mean what name?

Me: MacLaren

Guy: So your last name is MacLaren?

Me: Nope

Guy: I thought... mumble..family name...mumble

Me: Oh, you're talking about clans, yes, this IS a Maclaren Tartan and I'm a member of the Clan MacLaren Society...

Guy: appearing even more confused...

Me: Hey, how about another beer? I'll buy.

[Tony Miles]

Guy: Whose kilt is that?
Me: Ummm.. mine................. Me: Hey, how about another beer? I'll buy.

Now that's just funny, I don't care you you are

[fudgeman]

When walking around in a black leather kilt I get asked "what tartan is that ?" I reply "Mennonite" and walk away

[Zardoz]

I've two cases like that that I recall. what's funny, or sad, about them is that a 'family name' tartan was never involved, only experts with just enough knowlege to be dangerous.

One was easy, I was at the pub wearing my SWK Nightstalker, a woman wanted to know; "What kilt is that?" I said "Nightstalker tartan". She; "So, not a family tartan?" I kind of felt a big discussion coming on, so I said "No Ma'am, It's my kiltmakers corporate tartan" She; "Oh, OK"

Next was a little more fun, this was few years back at a Sci-Fi convention. I was wearing my then new Caledonia, and was in the hotel elevator with a couple friends. We were going like 20 floors from the top down to the ground floor, with a bunch of stops of course. A fellow in a business suit gets on and says in a sort of unfavorable tone:

"Nice kilt"

Me: "Thanks"

Suit guy: "Do you know what Tartan that is?"

Me: "Uh, yeah, it's Caledonia"

SG: "Must be new, I've never seen it before."

I was playing along OK, but now I figure this guy's a

Me: "It's a univesal tartan, I think it was originally registered in like 1820.."

SG: "Well I've never seen it, Do have the right to wear it?"

Me: "Yes, I bought it"

SG: "What I mean is did you get permission from......"

Me: "Where do you people get this crap?"

At this point two fortunate things happened, First, My friend Angela told the guy: " Man if you wanna debate your misinformation about kilts and tartan, don't do it with a guy in a kilt, at least not this one!"

Second, The door to our floor opened!

I love my friends!

[Tony]

" Man if you wanna debate your misinformation about kilts and tartan, don't do it with a guy in a kilt, at least not this one!"

As the Guinness guys once said.........."Brilliant!"

[RB51]

When walking around in a black leather kilt I get asked "what tartan is that ?" I reply "Mennonite" and walk away

A one raised in the Mennonite faith, I'm afraid that I just don't get this. I'm by no means offended...just puzzled by why others would find this so funny. I don't know if we who are north of the 49th are different from those in your neck of the woods, but as far as I know there is no proscription against Mennonites wearing kilts, or anything else that we wish, for that matter. I wear my kilt because of my Scottish heritage on my mother's side; on my father's side our Mennonite forefathers were booted around Europe, eventually settling in Siberia for three generations (including my father) before coming to Canada.

Laurie

[sathor]

I once had a guy tell me that I should get a real sporran instead of wearing a fanny pack when I was out in my SWK cargo sporran.

[sathor]

That attitude always amazes me. That someone would flat out not believe an expert on the subject is just baffling.

Perhaps, but lets look at it from a different direction. My grandma claims to have some Alexander tartan that my g. aunt (her sister) brought back from a trip to Scotland. She seemed to remember it having grey in it.

Now, the best I can guess is that she has a swath of MacDonald dress tartan. (Which is cool since my wife is only a few generations from being a MacDonald, close enough that her grandparents mention that part of the family still.)

Still, unless she ever finds it, I won't know what it really is, but if she only knew it as Alexander, who knows what she would find at the tartan Museum, and if she were as stubborn as my aunt.... she might have issue believe the expert as well.

(it might also be Alexander of Menstrey of some variation.)

[Rex_Tremende]

A one raised in the Mennonite faith, I'm afraid that I just don't get this. I'm by no means offended...just puzzled by why others would find this so funny.

I don't know if "funny" is an apt description of the retort, but it leaves the observer confused and unsure of how to react to the information. It is not a put-down, but rather an unexpected response, an untruth that sounds plausible to someone uninformed. It is not the remark that is funny; rather it is the resulting short-circuit that is amusing, particularly if the observer is a know-it-all.

Analyzing humor invariably renders the joke impotent, anyway.

Regards,
Rex.