Chase, and the Clan Gordon Pipe Band

Let me start by saying I'm only 1/4 Scottish.  My mom was 1/2, and tried to instill a sense of pride.  I was impressed early on, but lost connection as a teenager.  There was always something about bagpipe music that stirred something inside, but I never let it go very deep.  I'm guessing that was due to issues with mom, but those are my issues. 



A year or so ago, Chase made an off-the-cuff comment about learning to play the bagpipes.  He taught himself to play guitar, bass, and piano.  So, while I dismissed the comment, I knew he could if he decided to. 



One day he sent me a picture of a set of pipes he had purchased.  It seemed to be a lot of money, but he was determined.  Two months later, he was with the Clan Gordon Pipe Band out of Tacoma, WA.  He texted a couple of weeks ago that their quartet, of which he was a part, won first place.  While I still find it amazing, it doesn't really surprise me.



When he was learning bass, I walked by his room one afternoon, and he was listening to YYZ by Rush. 



"I'll never get this," he said.



It was two nights later, he was playing along with the music, and keeping stride note for note.  I wonder if Geddy Lee was that way.



This weekend, watching Chase play, I found feelings of pride awakened.  Not just that my son had become an incredible bagpipe player in such a short time.  It was a deeper feeling.  I found myself tearing up at the notes, and the thoughts that accompanied them.



Bagpipes get a lot of teasing.  The style and sound is certainly not for everyone.  Maybe if I had not been exposed to it from an early age, I would hate the sound.  And maybe it is something that only those who share the heritage can appreciate.  But there is something solemnly beautiful about the melodies from a lone bagpipe.  And when an entire band plays, it is so powerful.  Put that together with the drums, the flair, and the tradition, and it can stir your very soul.



Whether or not it means anything to me; or whether or not it should, or shouldn't, mean anything to Chase; my mother would have been incredibly proud.  And as I shot the video, and took the pictures, I struggled to keep the tears at bay. During the breaks, I wandered through a shop or two.  I purchased a little booklet about the Mackay clan.  Once again, I'm interested in learning about that part of my heritage.  I didn't choose my lineage.  And for almost 40 years, I've tried not to care about it.  But suddenly, I find myself dealing with feelings of pride, and, possibly, a touch of lost years.  Maybe it's being over 50 now.  Maybe I'm just getting sentimental in my older years. 



Or maybe it is the heritage, once again being awakened.