Burns victim

If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!

That was the theme of the evening last night, as I attended a birthday party for a man who's been dead for years. Robert Burns was a poet who captured his nation's heart. And they still love him. Even the descendants of the country love him.

The Baton Rouge Caledonia Society rocked the house last night with bagpipes and fat men with red sideburns. And the wee lassies danced a jig, too. I danced with them, waltzing with nearly a dozen women (sadly, no men!)

My friend Tom is a member of the Caledonia Society and thought I might like to join him for the evening. He was right. It was a blast. I even ate the haggis, the nastified liver-tasting meat that's wrapped up in a sheep intestine. It's pretty intense stuff. Not for the faint of heart. The best food at the potluck had to have been Tom's tondalikki, (ton-dah-leaky). It was a leek and chicken soup with plenty of thyme. Great stuff.

Tom dressed in his kilt and special jacket. He looked great. And I found a plaid tie that was close enough to tartan so as to keep me from being thrown out by the handsome (slightly burly) Robert Sutter, the guy with the prettiest eyes (and legs) at the affair. I think I was doing my best impression of what Scottish people look like when they're upset in this pic. I'm not really sure why I'm posting this abomination of a picture. Can you say "unflattering?")

There were dramatic readings of some of Burns' poetry, done in thick (and sometimes not so thick) Scottish brogue. I really enjoyed the poetry and the explanations of it. I'm glad I was listening so carefully, because at the end of the night, there was a trivia contest and I won a prize because I remembered Burns' term for scots was "the rustic" in one of his works. I won some shortbread cookies for my trouble. They look good.

For dessert, we carved into a cake shaped like Nessie, the monster at Loch Ness. She was delicious.

With the costumes, dancing and good fellowship, it was a great show. I enjoyed it and I slept well thinking about what a unique experience it was to dance the jig with men and women in kilts and skirts.