Once upon a time an educator from West Virginia attended a Weather Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1996.  The city was prepping for the Tattoo and it seemed as if there was a piper on every corner.  After I returned home i became quite interested in my grandparents ancestry (Grants and MacDonalds).  A church friend had just started playing pipes and I became a fan and eventually ended up being a steward at some piping competition and could hear the skirl of the pipes in my head on the over an hour drive home.   I do believe that is when I was hooked.  I took lessons from my friend and was lucky enough to meet Sandy Jones that held the NAAPD camp in Valle Crucis NC.  I began attending camp in 2007 (maybe earlier)-2019 and only missed one summer.

I was introduced to the Dojo by a band mate in the early 2000 when they would have Wednesday noon time session.  I'd take my lunch to my office, close the door, and listen to Andrew discuss various topics.  Once in awhile they would play snippets of tunes and ask us which was better.  I had no clue...it all sounded fine to me.

Once I retired I began listening in and participanting on the morning classes - which I continue to do now.

One final note....in 2017 I visited Scotland with a piping friend. Margeurite and I stayed in Sterling did some sight seeing including the Falkirk Wheel (it's a must see) and did the Piping Live Week in Glasgow and watched the World Piping championships when Inveraray and District won the championship! Very exciting!