Barbara and I were walking with another couple through some back streets of Ketchikan. Ahead, we saw a burly man with bright red shirt and snow white beard who certainly looked like Santa, except for one minor detail. He wore a leather kilt. A leather Kilt! So we stopped, told him that he looked like Santa (like he didn’t know) and asked to photograph him. He had a huge grin, and complied.

(click to enlarge)

He and his wife arrived in Ketchikan about 10 years ago. They sailed from Puget Sound in a 26 foot sailboat and never returned. Hunter is not a small guy, and 26 feet is not a large sailboat for that voyage. I think that I would have declined a return trip too!

So, we had to mention the kilt. Hunter went on a diatribe about the different kinds of kilts, and their origins. Unfortunately, I did not have a pen and paper, so I don’t remember any of the details. But I very well remember his explanation of the derivation of the word “kilt”. It’s what happened to a guy who called it a skirt.

Bob