Or have I just been too busy with other stuff to blog regularly since my computer woes were ended? I have been working with my dad (and my son) building his enormous garage since mid-July, and it still looks like we've barely started. However Google+ seems to be taking up a large amount of my free time as I try to figure out exactly what I can do with it to make my online experience better. I have been barely keeping up with reading blogs, much less posting regularly; sorry about that, trying to integrate new tech and all, especially since the mighty Google empire already controls Blogger as a fiefdom. I rather expect that somehow all of this will be somehow integrated together and I'd prefer not to be caught off guard when it does.
Also, I went to the central New York Scottish games this past Saturday, which was nice. I don't go every year, sometimes I just forget what weekend it is, sometimes I have other plans, sometimes I just don't have the money for it. The nice old lady from my clan that taught my wife how to make shortbread informed me that my clan hasn't had a champion in the games since I quit competing some two decades ago. On the one hand that's nice to be remembered as the clan's champion, on the other I kind of feel like I let them down when I quit competing. I was never serious about it, just big and naturally suited to feats of strength from growing up in farm country.
You should compete again if you feel up to it. Even here in Scotland the number of competitors shrink year after year. It's sad to see such fine old traditions dying out.
ReplyDeleteI see that here too. I passed my kilt on to my younger brother when I decided to "pass the torch" to him; he's 10 years younger than me and only a little smaller. Now, my son is 16 and interested, but doesn't have the same massive build my brother and I got. It was kind of funny when the nice old lady was talking about it she said "All these younger men seem to want to do is hang around and drink beer", I smiled a bit because I always had time for both the beer and the competition, plus I smoked 2 packs a day and had time for lots of other shenanigans as well. Now I am 42 years old, I rarely drink and quit smoking years ago, and I am getting back into shape for fighting anyway, I might just as well add training for the highland games to my agenda too; it can't really hurt much except maybe my pride when all the young guys are beating me :)
ReplyDeleteGive it a go, what have you got to lose??
ReplyDelete:D Go train a team man ;)
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I also find it amusing that it is the "and I also did this.." portion of the blog post that garnered all the comments. It'll be tough to get a team together. My brother moved out of state and all my other nearby close male relatives, other than my 16 year old son, are older than me and in worse shape. Still, John is way more devoted to strength training than I ever was at 16, so maybe he'll have a chance after a couple of years of training. Me? I'll give it a shot, but at 42 I feel it more than I used to at 18 or 21.
ReplyDelete'McLeod'! No not really since we are not 'McLeod's!' Morris and Cameron.
ReplyDeleteKeep that stuff up. If you're not doing it, how can your son prove he's better than the old man? When my son was getting into high school I was really ready to go slowww on my hobbies. He wanted to ramp them up.
Kept me busy and in shape. Now he's into his hobbies trying to get my granddaughter and grandson interested.
Clan Cameron here!
ReplyDeleteCopy/Pasted from the Clan Cameron website about my surname- DOWIE, (Also-MacALDOWIE, MacILDOWIE)
This surname is derived from "MacDhomhnuil Duibh," "Domhnull Dubh," 11th Chief of Clan Cameron. The surname Dowie is from "Dow" (of dark or black complexion) (in Gaelic=Dubh) + the diminuitive suffix "ie."
Which I take to mean as being descended from the 11th Chief of the Clan Cameron Domhnull Dubh AKA (in English) Black Donald. Pretty cool.