Some ways to handle dealing with the Crabby Old Fart at FK

[Tattoo Bradley]

I'll second the "Damn the toes" comment.

[David Thornton]

Rocky, I'll respond here in hopes that I am able to address your concern & a larger issue.

I am sure you do not remember specifically emailing me with an answer, but you recognized that I was not getting a straight answer to a question posed in 2005 and you sent a private message. I am sure that was to avoid stomping on toes or calling anyone a hypocrite on line. I saved that message just to remind myself that there were people that thought about there responses and didn't just run up post counts.

That response did not sell a kilt for you, but it helped me. Your recent offensive posts, and I am pretty sure I know which ones they were, were viewed by me as information not confrontation. So keep posting, knowledge is too hard to come by today.

And now to the larger issue, Political Correctness is way to pervasive in society today, and getting that way here. I would much prefer honest heartfelt, well presented facts than sugar coated silliness & me toos.
Here and in my life in general, so keep it coming.

David

[The Wizard of BC]

Thank you Rocky for your comments. Coming from you they mean more to me than anything else.

I fondly remember the days when this forum had only 100 members and The Kilt Store, USA Kilts, and Freedom Kilts were the only paying members. We had many talks about how we wanted this to be something special and that it was not simply a place to "Hawk our wares" but something greater than the sum of the dollars we were spending to support it.

I know others also have painful memories of Bear, and how during the beginning of his problems, he became silent. You and I mentioned "Watching a Train Wreck About To Happen" and how helpless we felt watching another kiltmaker go down the drain.

As this forum has grown and your business, and mine, have grown we have made mistakes. But I remember you and I sitting in your old shop on Egypt Rd. talking them through and becoming friends.

To you and I X Marks became more than profit margin. The Kilt became more than something to sell to make a buck. And the other members here became our friends and not just potential sales numbers.

You and I have seen this forum and this world of Kilts grow and mature. We have seen others come to join us and we have seen some go away.
I would like to think that you and I have had a small part in the success of both X Marks as a place to talk about all kilts, and the overall acceptance of Kilts as respected menswear.

And by the way, please send me some more of your business cards. I'm almost out of them in my shop and you can be assured I know where to send my friends when they want a quality Tartan Kilt.

I remain, Crabby and Garumfy as I am, your friend.

[way2fractious]

Now, Steve... you know sticking your nose - and/or fingers - under one of those sewing machines could make for some really interesting and painful conjoining of those extremities. The mental picture is something like E.T.'s fingers sewn to Cyrano de Bergerac's nose.

I count myself honored to have met you and Bobbie recently and to hang around your shop, your home, your other "new" place, your city and "your" museum. And, BTW, you did a superb job of expressing just how you feel - unusual for the "engineer personality." But then, anyone of any personality has the same fears as you, namely rejection or loss of approval. Protecting our "core self" on the chance those fears come to life is survival in our social world.

"Damn the toes" may sound harsh, but it is tempered in your case by your being a genuinely nice, kind, and decent man - and I'm sure Bobbie contributes to that tempering, as well. As pdcorlis noted, it's the very, very dry humor that catches a lot of flak from many people.

I'm glad you self-applied the title, Crabby/Garumphy Old Fart, and left alone MY adjectives/noun - Irascible and Fractious Curmudgeon (my "coping skills" - good, huh?)

[majdan]

Wiz,

I'm tuned into your Freq. I have found your concern with fabric weight to be a very cogent point when it comes to kilt construction. There is a trade off between comfort and stability in a wind. To wit, I love my Sport kilt because it's light and cool but it is a hazard in even the slightest wind. My 8 yrd 16 oz black watch hangs well and is stable in a breeze it's like a wearing a dutch oven when temparatures get above 80.

[The Frumious B.]

thanks you three...best laugh i've had all day!
and, I, too, am a Frumiously GOF, so to quote that famous Scotsman:
Wha's like us? Damn few an' they're a' died!

[Riverkilt]

Well, in my opinion....hmm probably can't say that....

What I think is...umm, maybe better hold that thought....

It might help if....no, can't say that....

Maybe, if we all....boy, that'd get me in trouble...

How about, It sure is nice to kilt up on a sunny day and sally forth and have the ladies swoon when I pass and get 'atta boys' from tough looking teenage boys.

I've freed my balls....now to keep working on restraining my tongue...I can do this...I can....really....

Ron
Canada looks better and better every day....

[The Wizard of BC]

All I can say is thank goodness for the PM section of this forum.
The electrons are bouncing off the walls right now.

[cessna152towser]

Steve, I admire and respect your frankness, not only in speaking out about things, but also in admitting that you perceive yourself as a COF.
A plain speaker is a man to be respected.
A plain speaker in a kilt is a man and a half to be respected.
The CADPAT Camo which you originally built for Riverkilt attracted quite a bit of interest at the Harpenden Gathering and I was wishing I had taken a few of your cards along with me.

[Big Mikey]

I have followed this thread with great interest and having seen the variety of posts I now feel it is my turn to chime in.

In order to most effectively deal with the C.O.F. start by becoming a customer. He is more genial when dealing with fabric and cash.

Next, drop by the shop for some good natured bantering and abuse (he gives, you receive) and order something else. If the mood strikes, the C.O.F. may even take you on a guided tour of his fair city.

Finally, if the C.O.F. is hosting some kind of function, say a camp of some kind, lend a hand. This will really throw him off guard.

You will know you have been successful when upon your departure, the C.O.F. gives you a hug and says "Thanks."

By the way, in THIS post C.O.F. stands for Cherished Old Friend.