11:52 p.m. - 2002-08-29
History 101
When the alarm went off this morning, I was dreaming about my Mom. Seemed she was trying very hard to explain something to me but I couldn't get a clear understanding of the message. She died four years ago but still is always close.
At work more of the same challenges. I decided I needed to hear something on the discman that would stiffen the spine. Soooo... bear with me on this - I chose bagpipes and the fiddle. You see my grandmother, my Mom's mother, came to Canada as a "babe in arms" from Scotland at the turn of the century. When I was growing up, whenever I was spending time with her bagpipes and fiddles were our background noise. We spent most of our time doing simple things like baking, picking berries,playing at the beach or telling stories of the past during endless card and board games. She was the most influential person in my childhood.
So when it comes to my way of approaching a challenge I will always refer to what she taught me first. When my marriage ended and I was left with six young sons and no resources, her stories about how she had kept her family going during the Depression and her examples of how to get the most out of every penny that went through her hands was what helped us survive. It made it possible for me to keep trying - the first five years or so were pretty unbearable. But I would think of her and her faith in herself and the future and keep trying; believing somehow things would get better just as they did for her and my Mom. Looking back ten years later, things are better.
So now that there are new challenges with different skills needed I need to hear her voice and my Mom's again. And you know, I hear them through the fiddles and the bagpipes. This time they remind me of when I was small and frightened or intimidated by others and their counsel then. You see, for them it was all in the attitude. You can hear it in the music and see it in the dance. One of my girlfriends at school competed in Highland dancing and sometimes she needed a partner to help practice. I loved the Sword dance. Points were given for steps and costume but they were also given for ATTITUDE - you had to convince the judges you were Fierce and indifferent all at once!
There is a unique music culture on the shores of Atlantic Canada. Most of the settlers there were either Scots or French - many of whom ended up in Louisiana but that's another day's story. The Gaelic/Celtic community on the East Coast stayed true to the music of their forebears and it has enjoyed a new surge of popularity here. Young Ashley MacIsaac plays a mean electric fiddle, dressed in proper kilt and regalia, backed by some incredible fiddlers/pipers - sort of hard rock/celt all in one. Okay so it's a version that would make a purist roll over in their grave but it is entertaining and my grandmother would have thought it a fine joke. So I listened to the music and my foremothers voices telling me the stories I need to hear right now.
As for Mel Gibson and Braveheart, kilts and all - did you know that the battle dress for the Scots had become much more protective by the time William Wallace made his stand. Earlier Scots had always fought buck naked - except when they added some mud to reduce the glare. You see the idea was that you went into battle ready to be buried, no quarter given none taken. Kilts came later when it was deemed certain - assets - needed some protection in case of survival.
�
�
