Can’t explain it
I went to a party Sat. night. I’m not a party guy. I thought this one would be different. It was an Ultimate party and there was free pool. It was not different. Even in a room where everyone shared my favorite talking point-Ultimate, I still couldn’t find a place to start a conversation. Beer and noise are my kryptonite.
Cut to the next day. Surround myself with basically the same people, but this time I’m in a field and conversation comes second to the actual game of Ultimate.
In our very first game I had one of those great one on one battles going. I got a D on him. He got a D on me. He called a foul. I contested it. And the play was done over. I was wrong, but he treated me with respect. I burned him. He burned me. And all through the game we battled it out. It was one of those occasions when opponents bring out the best. My team snuck away with the victory, but that’s less important to me than the rest of the story.
And the post-game story was interesting too. In between games I struck up a conversation with Chip, my new rival. As I walked away he said to me, “I have an extra skirt if you’re interested.” I thanked him and said maybe I’d find him later. A bit later I did find him and I borrowed a beautiful blue kilt. I wore it like a Scotsman should, perhaps a backwards Scotsman, but still a Scotsman. And it was glorious, probably less so for the spectators. From that point on, I talked it up with my teammates. I joked, I laughed and I didn’t care. It was my kind party.

My sister asked me an interesting question that I still can’t answer. “Why did he offer you a skirt in the first place?” It didn’t occur to me, but that is an interesting question. Chime in if you read all this, but don’t forget that skirt wearing in Ultimate is an accepted practice. I like to think it’s because my Spirit was visible.