Well, Craig
It is fairly unlikely I have Scottish blood, despite reports to the contrary (see The Reverend John Dorcas). I was neither born nor raised in Scotland. I hadn't even set foot in Scotland until I was 51 years old.
But my name is all over the friggin' place. Yellowcraig, Craigmillar, Wellcraig, ...
While this may be coincidental, it is a big boost to my ego. Therefore, I will conclude it's destiny.
It's as if someone travelled the country before me, putting dibs on everything before I arrived.
Well I'm here in Scotland, ready to take possession!
Craig, The Origin Story
There is the story my parents tell, probably apocryphal, of how I got the name Craig.
It was a rainy April morning in 1965. When my parents retell this story, they stress how rainy and gloomy it was. I take that a little personally.
Anyhoo, I had just been born. My father is outside the hospital, walking around rainy downtown Mitchell South Dakota smoking a cigarette. I'm suspicious of this detail. It is 1965 and he didn't need to leave the hospital to smoke. There are plenty of places to smoke inside, complete with overflowing metal ashtrays and cigarette vending machines in the corner. What can I say? It was a simpler time: a time when cigarettes weren't carcinogenic and helpful doctors recommended brands to you.
OK so he's outside for a walk. I suppose he was trying to wrap his head around this, his second child ... a boy, unnamed, and a ginger to boot. That's a lot to take in.
Supposedly he looked up from his cigarette and spotted a sign for the Walrath-Craig Insurance company. And bingo. I got my name.
My dad's great. I am thankful to him for a lot of things in life. Above all, I thank him for not naming me Walrath.
Craig in Scotland
Fast forward 59 years. I am in Edinburgh, and people ask me my name.
"Craig," I reply.
"Craig?" they respond, looking a little puzzled.
But wait, isn't every other place name in Scotland "Craig" ? Why are they confused?
It turns out the name "Craig" is out of fashion for the Scots, and has been for years. It's the equivalent of naming a baby "Chester" or "Ezra" in the US. (I'm sure those will come back into vogue soon).
"Craig" means "rocky" in Scots Gaelic - a la "crag". So it's more of a place name than a person name. This is very appropriate for Scotland, because ... if there's one thing in abundance in Scotland, it's rocks. Also whisky.
In a bizarre coincidence, I also have a stuffed raccoon named Rocky. My mother created and sewed Rocky, along with his little hoodie, a stocking cap, mittens, and other fashionable accessories. He was part of a set of triplet raccoons, named off-the-cuff by my grandfather "Rocky, Ricky, and Racky."
Coincidence? Destiny? You decide.
Craig All Over!
So from the first week I arrived in Scotland, I have found and visited Craig-named places.
Craigmillar Castle - Which I describe in lurid detail in A Castle I Can Live With. Craigmillar comes from Creag Maol Àirde or "rock of the bare summit". It's actually the name of the surrounding neighborhood in Edinburgh, with the castle named Prestoun, then Gourtoun, then Craigmillar over the years. The Craigmillar neighborhood housed 7 breweries in the 1900's, but all are gone now. Pity.
Yellowcraig is a caravan campsite in North Berwick. (Caravan is the UK term for RV.). Actually, it's a beach. Supposedly, Yellowcraig Beach inspired Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson's book Treasure Island. Avast ye swabs!
Craiglang ... ok I'm cheating here, Craiglang is the fictional suburb of Glasgow where the TV show Still Game is set. If you haven't watched it, it's worth checking out on Netflix. It's funny as hell, and I can attest to its Scottish authenticity. But turn the captions on - the contortions the Scottish put the English language through are breathtaking.
Craigielaw is known primarily for its golf course. If you hit a golf ball from Leith or Portobello, and drive it about 10 miles without dropping it in the Firth of Forth, you will end up on the green of Craigielaw. Fun fact: when my nieces were young, I bamboozled them into calling me Uncle Craigie. They still do on occasion.
Craigies Farm is a PYO (pick your own) farm on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Rumor has it this was the original title of Bob Dylan's immortal tune "Maggie's Farm" (born in the same year as yours truly, 1965). He wisely changed it, knowing he would get sued by me later in life if he didn't.
Wellcraig is a 19th century house in Tayport. Many large houses in Scotland have cool names, and I have no idea where this name originated. But as stated in the Perth Advisor, "Wellcraig is a house Tay die for." Get it? Tay die for?
Craig This and That
That's just a sampling of Craig names. No doubt there are more.
Granted if my name were Scott, I'd feel even more at home. My boss's name is Scott. When I told him I was going to Scotland, I added, "You know ... your country." Getting him a souvenir t-shirt will be ridiculously easy.
But I'm just Craig. Lost in a country whose signposts tell me to go one way, and then another. They don't tell me why.
And where are all the raccoons? There are no raccoons in Scotland. Geez louise.
