Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Always A Bridesmaid...

Ambulance Driver posts the results of the Kilted to Kick Cancer Fundraiser.

And it looks like I'm gonna have to wear a "minute-of-berm" T-shirt. Barely. Just over $300 separated AD and I, with our combined total north of $5K. The overall take was over $8,000. That is simply amazing. You folks out-and-out rock! Coming in second is one thing; coming in second while raising this kind of money is another thing entirely. I'm thrilled to have been a part of this; even more so that my involvement helped to spur things to this level.

I'd like to thank some specific folks for their kindness and generosity. Brigid, Art, Robb, Unc, Borepatch, and North were all kind enough to give me linky love - without the additional exposure (heh) I'm certain I would never have gotten this close. Friend, commenter, occasional provider of blogfodder SCI-FI, for his intrepid camera work; ditto Weerdbeard and Mrs. G. Props to my brother-in-law for letting me borrow his kilt; I know it's a deeply personal item, and the loan means a lot (and I'll have it dry-cleaned before returning, kthanx).

To everyone that so generously opened their wallets and donated their hard-earned lucre: Thank you. I'd like to list everyone that donated, but in many cases folks donated under their real names, or anonymously, etc. that I'm not 100% sure who I should or shouldn't mention. Every contribution - from the $5 from Sweet Daughter R. to the whopping nearly $500 donation that came in at the 11th hour - is greatly appreciated and will go directly to the charity of choice. I am humbled and amazed - but not surprised - at the sheer generosity of the folks who donated. We raised over $2,500 here, and I am very proud of that.

Not too bad for a shaved head biker gun nut and the folks who read him, eh?

There's some follow-up work to be done - I owe a few people some pictures, and I need to get a "minute-of-berm" shirt done up (heh). I have some prizes to collect, from what I hear - I have no idea how I'm going to collect that ammunition, though, living in Massachusetts... I've got to look into the Pistol Training course and see if they venture deep in the heart of the beast, or if I will need to make travel arrangements to take advantage of this prize. There's a Talon holster awaiting my input courtesy of Dennis and Dragon Leatherworks, and a hefty discount on a quality kilt for next year (side note: what kind of kilt should an Italian shaved head biker gun nut get???).

And if AD wants to do it again next year, I will be eagerly awaiting the challenge. I need - no, demand - a rematch. This year caught me flat-foot: No kilt, no idea what i was going to do, no plan; everything thrown together at the last minute. Things didn't really pick up until the last week - if I had hit the ground running from Day One I'd have crushed Ambulance Driver like a bug been able to raise much more money and avoided the humiliation of the "minute-of-berm" shirt made a larger donation to each group.

And very lastly: Someone let me know when the Bradys and Million Moms and all raise over eight thousand dollars for cancer research, would you?

That is all.

12 comments:

ZerCool said...

I think the kilt should be obvious:
Erskine Red pleated to the sett. It's as close to the Italian tablecloth as you're going to get.

Bonus points if you wrap your sporran in wicker and stick a candle on top. ;-)


Congrats, and thank you.

Nancy R. said...

Harley-Davidson has its own registered tartan.

Ambulance Driver said...

Well, the Hornady thing is a gift certificate (first of its kind, cuz Hornady don't do gift certificates) I'll mail you, so maybe you can get a buddy in NH to redeem it and truck the ammo in?

As far as the kilts go, this one looks right up your alley.

And dude, I was alternating between cheering and sweating. I must have updated the total 7 times in the last two hours before midnight. You closed the gap by over $500 in those two hours.

Be sure to smile big in your Minute of Berm tee shirt. ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm partial to the utilikilts for every day where myself. Oh, and thanks for doing this. My dad is a prostate cancer survivor, and Sunday I went to a friend of mine's 30th "I Kicked Cancer's Ass!" party. She lost an arm to bone cancer as a young teen, but you would NEVER know it. There is almost nothing she can't do and so full of life most people never even notice the lack of a limb.

North said...

Thank you for doing this. I loved to have the chance to use the Gun Blog Black List to widen awareness of charitable events like this.

Brad_in_IL said...

Jay,

Next year do something really daring . . . LEDERHOSEN.

- Brad

Caleb said...

Dude congratulations! I'm actually really glad that you out-paced me for 2nd place and got the PT class!

Stretch said...

As an American you can wear the Bicentennial tartan:
http://www.tartanscrapbooks.com/catalog/i95.html

There is also The Bay State Tartan:
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Massachusetts/tartan_massachusetts.html
But do you really want to let everyone you meet know you're "from there" even before you open your mouth?

Gotta say that Nancy has a real winner with the H-D Tartan. Bad ass bikers need bad ass kilts. If you get one I'll send you a Sgian Dubh for your sock.

Bob said...

The Scottish Lion Import Shop has a tartan finder for each clan, and also for non-clan organizations, I believe. If you go back in your family tree far enough there's bound to be a Scot in the woodpile, and you can either use that clan's tartan, or pick one at random just because you like the colors.

The best book on the subject of kilts is So You're Going To Wear the Kilt by Charles Thompson. It covers not only kilts, but other Highland clothing and accessories. Hint: Going kilted in Highland fashion gives you an excuse to carry not one, but two knives on your person, the larger dirk on your hip, and the smaller sgian dubh in your sock. And one can never have too many knives, right?

Jay G said...

So far I think Nancy has the right idea for the kilt...

AD,

If the PCF totals were live like the LiveStrong, you would have had even more reason to sweat. I think folks saw my LiveStrong runaway and didn't donate as much as they could have...

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it...

Caleb,

I'll take your words with a grain of salt - I'm sure getting beaten by two old guys has gotta smart... ;)

Thanks Stretch - I'm going to look into whether I can get the HD tartan... :D

Ross said...

Here ya go, Jay - http://www.scotsitalian.com/culture.htm Some info here, although there doesn't seem to be a web presence for Clansman Italia, who is supposedly the only source for the Italian national tartan.

Might want to download this book and read it: http://www.standrewssocietymilwaukee.org/kiltbook.pdf

Ed said...

Don't be wearing that tablecloth from an Italian restaurant.

Check out the MacLaren sport kilt (you are a Scout leader, right?) and head wrap on this site:
http://www.sportkilt.com/product/8211/MacLaren-Noggin-Wrap.html

They also offer a "commando" model kilt with pockets in OD or various styles of camo.