A Scottish Tattoo: Not just a blue thistle on your bicep

When my 89 year old mother was visiting in July, I noticed a sign at the post office (the best place to discover interesting upcoming events) for a Scottish Tattoo at Fort Knox in Bucksport.

What is a Scottish Tattoo? It's not body art, though there does seem to be some tie in or confusion with skin decoration -- just Google "Scottish Tattoo" and see. Here's what Wikipedia has to say, under "Military Tattoo":

The original meaning of military tattoo was a military drum performance, but subsequently it came to mean army displays more generally.

The term dates from around 1600 during the Thirty Years' War in the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands). The Dutch fortresses were garrisoned with mercenary troops that were under federal command since 1594. The Dutch States Army had become a federal army, consisting mostly of Scottish, English, German and Swiss mercenaries, but commanded by a Dutch officer corps. Drummers from the garrison were sent out into the towns at 21:30 hrs (9:30PM) each evening to inform the soldiers that it was time to return to barracks. The process was known as doe den tap toe (Dutch for "turn off the tap"), an instruction to innkeepers to stop serving beer and send the soldiers home for the night. The drummers continued to play until the curfew at 22:00 hrs (10:00PM). Tattoo, earlier tap-too and taptoo, are alterations of the Dutch words tap toe which have the same meaning.

Mom's recently deceased 94 year old husband was very proud of his Scot ancestry, and I knew she would enjoy it. So we packed up a picnic and headed over to Fort Knox, across the Penobscot opposite Bucksport. It was a beautiful evening, crisp and clear, and bagpipers in colorful kilts were scattered all over the place. We got a great place to sit inside the fort: when the marchers came in, they headed right for us, in the front row. First were a small fife and drum group of Civil War re-enactors just returned from the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg.

But next came the really colorful stuff: the bagpipers, with drums:

There were five groups in all, from Maine and New Brunswick. The outfits were so dramatic, fitting with the stirring music (but ya have to love bagpipes!):

 Even some of the audience dressed up in their Scots finery:

We left before the end because it was getting pretty chilly (note to self: dress warmer next time), but we were in for a treat when we got outside the walls of the fort. The groups who were already done or waiting to perform were milling about, and the setting sun cast a gorgeous light on the swirling kilts:

Even Bucksport looked pretty in the light:

Watch for the next Scottish Tattoo, at Fort Know, probably next summer. Best place to find out: the Fort Knox events page.
 

We visit the Penobscot Narrows Observatory -- The Bridge

Anyone traveling by road to Deer Isle from southern Maine knows about The Bridge in Bucksport. The old bridge was impressive enough, the new one (opened in 2006) towers over the old and is sleek, 21st century in design. The tower that is closer in the photo (an older photo from the bridge website, the old bridge on the left has now been removed) also hosts an observatory at the top. A friend suggested that we visit and add the adventure to this blog, as "well worth it."

Okay. Well, I am a little wary of heights. Just driving across this new bridge was eerie enough. Imagine being in the passenger side of an RV (about twice as high up as a passenger car) with just a fragile looking railing between you and the abyss, the water 135 feet below. The new bridge doesn't even have bridge supports on the outside of the travel lanes, so it feels much less "solid" than the older version. Going up in the tower? I was leery, but game. We did it.

Here's the tower from below -- you access it through the Fort Knox park. There's a fee, but it differs by all kinds of factors like age and whether you are a Maine resident. Check here for what YOU would pay.

So we got in the elevator, suitably warned by the attendant that the windows would be floor to ceiling and about three feet in front of the elevator doors. She wasn't kidding. You step out of the elevator and one more step could take you over the edge if the glass disappeared.

There are three floors of observation decks. The first two contain the elevator shaft and staircase, so there isn't much floor space left. The top floor has 360 degree windows and an open space, but the whole thing probably isn't much more than an 10 x 12 room, and with all that glass? Yikes.

Years ago when I was going to N. Y. U. grad school, the World Trade Center was a regular stop for out-of-town guests. The observation floor was MUCH higher, with the same floor to ceiling windows, plus the whole thing was so high (1310 feet vs. 410 feet of the Penobscot Observatory) that it had a noticable sway. Yet I don't remember being bothered much by the heights there, even standing right up to the glass, with my toes on the edge. Perhaps it was because the space was much larger, or just because I was much younger. One guest I took (interestingly, from Bucksport) was quite freaked and plastered himself to the wall behind. He did not enjoy the view at all.

While the views from the Penobscot Observatory were wonderful and the facility itself a sleek design like the bridge, I found it quite rattling and uncomfortable. It even took awhile after getting down to feel settled again.

When I was gingerly trying to enjoy the view, I remembered how the old bridge was pretty notorious for suicide jumpers.

I just Googled "Penobscot Narrows Bridge suicides" and got pages of links. Apparently, suicides have continued, with at least four from the new bridge. There was even an article about whether suicide prevention fences should be installed on Maine bridges that seem to attract desperate people. Even though a fence would impair the bridge's sleek design, it would seem to be a kindness.

Howsoever, if heights do not bother you or you are willing to test your stomach, the bridge observatory would be worth a trip. Choose a nice day, take a lunch to chow down in the Fort's picnic area, and do a tour of Fort Knox at the same time. According to one of the hosts in the tower, "Now, that is spooky!"