Cold Food, Hot Dude
Trader Joe’s was pretty crowded for 7:00 on a Friday night (I know, I’m a real social butterfly), and I pulled my hat off when I walked in the door. (The fur-lined aviator hat is warm, but a little goofy.) Since my hair has gotten longer, it’s really itchy to wear my wig, so although it looks awesome, I’ve started going out without it. My hair is reeeeeeeally short, and it’s still pretty obvious that I’m growing it back from nothing; at Target today it got a lot of curious looks. I was a little self-conscious about it, but what the heck. My head is cute, my makeup is good, I’m rocking it. So people were doing double-takes tonight as they caught sight of my close crop. (I’m learning to live with the attention.)
Down at the end of the fresh foods aisle, a solidly-built gentleman was looking at cheese. Salt-and-pepper hair, Henry Rollins build, basket of groceries, and a kilt. With a sporran. And knee socks with the little ribbons. Big black brogues, a vest, and a bow tie. Awesome. He had a furrowed brow, as if he couldn’t remember what he was there to buy, or couldn’t find the right aisle for it. He looked very serious, and although I tried to catch his eye to smile, he was focused on his task.
I finished my shopping, checked out, and as I was pushing my cart out of the store, I noticed him walking across the front toward the register I had just left. I decided to take a chance that he had a sense of humor under that fierce demeanor, and as I rolled past him, I leaned over and said, “I’m glad you’re here – I thought I was going to be the one who got the most stares tonight.”
His face lit up and brightened from the center outward, revealing a radiant smile and twinkling blue eyes. He laughed as I rolled out to the parking lot.
I'm a two-and-a-half time ovarian cancer survivor who is not only determined to make it to sixty but also to look damn good while getting there. My two boys, husband, and dog are counting on me to get out of bed every day, so I might as well wear something cute and make each one COUNT. I'd love to hear from you about your odyssey - sharing makes it all easier to take. And laugh at.
The Carcinista 
Amy Hofmann said,
December 12, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Awesome!
tori said,
December 15, 2009 at 2:02 PM
that’s the type of comment i would think of about 4 hours after having left the store. perfect – and i’m so glad you said something. what IS it about men in kilts anyway? yum.
mynameisnotcancergirl said,
December 18, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Love it, love it, love it! I haven’t read all your posts, but I’ve gone back a few, and I’m enjoying it all. I look forward to reading them all when I have a little more time.
Best of luck with your journey,
Eileen
My Kilt Encounter – An Update « The Carcinista said,
January 4, 2010 at 1:52 PM
[…] that it’s a community of kilt-wearing scotsmen. I guessed they were amused by the tale of my Trader Joe’s encounter of last month, and discovered that someone had put a link to my story in a comment thread. When I […]
MoxiePhotos - Dancer Spence said,
January 5, 2010 at 10:10 PM
Delicious!
The Wife said,
January 8, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Funny that I should even come across this story but that kilted man was my husband and we became aware of this post through the kilt post that he had done. He had relayed the story when he arrived home that evening. I am glad that he can brighten the day of others just as he does for me every day. Stay well!
sandhy said,
January 13, 2010 at 3:51 AM
that is SO cool – your comment AND the kilt wearing. Nothing like a bloke in a kilt! Fab
It’s odd, in the UK, my GI Jane brush cut was mostly ignored by people who didn’t know me, and of course kilted men don’t draw much attention over here [cos there are quite a lot of them] – and if people DID stare at me I gave them the ‘What’s YOUR Problem Then’ cancery type person patented glare…sends them scurrying. And made me chuckle.
I love your blog :o) You GO girl!
sandhy said,
January 13, 2010 at 3:52 AM
oh! a smiley face appeared in my comment!! how amusing!