Plaid to the Bone:A Day at the Highland Games.

We went to the 40th annual Stone Mountain Highland Games here in Georgia. What a rollicking good time we had!

 Now I've got to tell you, I haven't  seen so many men in skirts since  the Bay City Rollers were popular. Yeah, baby!

 Since I am a McIntosh from Clan McIntosh on my Mother's side  naturally I was looking for all things McIntosh. Here's some of what I found:

I know that McIntosh is a common name but I was pretty excited to find all of this dedicated to our family.

I found out that the McIntosh Clan used to live in the Highlands of Scotland where starvation was pervasive. It was also waaaay too close to the Arctic Circle with no trees. I can certainly see why they emigrated. 

I can't in all good conscience recommend that you go to any Highland Games unless you really love bagpipes.  You'll hear bagpipes at every turn. Bagpipes marching, bagpipes dancing, bagpipes in rock bands. I personally loved it but my daughter was beginning to get a look on her face by the end of the day. You're a parent, right? You know the look. Yeah, that one.

There were athletic competitions to see such as the sheaf toss. Now I admit that I thought they said sheep toss and I was thinking, "What kind of people stick a pitchfork into a poor little sheep and toss it?" But a quick look at the program made me feel much better. A sheaf is bundle of wheat, who knew!

These athletes were pretty burly guys. Some hurling the 20 pound sheaf more then 30 feet high. Others throwing a 42 pound hammer 50 feet. Watching all of this made me feel like my family came out  of the shallow end of the gene pool. Grandpa McIntosh was only 5'7" and maybe 130 pounds in his prime. I guess that has something to do with the starvation thing.

Quite by accident, we found out what a Scottsman wears under his kilt.

What a relief! Now the world knows that Scottsmen have it all together! Thank you unidentified Scottsman! 

In addition to athletic contests there were also dancing, harping and piping competitions.

As with every event such as this there were plenty of shopping opportunities. I found jewelry, furniture, artwork, food ( oh yes, haggis) clothing and everything you need for your bagpipes. My favorite item was this:

That just says it all.

 Now I just have to say a word about haggis. If you're Scottish you can't avoid the issue. Haggis is sheep's stomach stuffed with sheep's innnards and spices. This is what people invent to eat when they're starving. It wouldn't surprise me if the McIntoshes didn't invent it. Remember, they were starving near the Arctic circle. Sad.

All in all, I highly recommend that you take your own Highland adventure if you're Scottish. You might try not to bring any Frenchmen though, like I did. If those comments about kilts had been a little louder I'd likely be a widow by now!


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