Letting It All Hang Out

So here’s the thing: you’re a photographer and you want to take a boy’s photograph, except you can’t get him to smile. Nobody can. He’s never smiled. And, for now at least, it looks as if he never will.

He suffers from Moebius Syndrome - the absence of the facial nerves allow us to blink and move the eyes laterally and give us the ability to smile.

That’s the predicament of Scottish commercial photographer Colin Read and his son George.

Moebius Syndrome is a very rare condition and at present pretty much nothing is known about its cause, let alone how it can be prevented. Colin, though, has picked up the baton and together with his wife and two other trustees has established the Moebius Research Trust. The trust plans to raise £200,000 to fund groundbreaking research into the cause of the condition.

How?

Colin and chum Iain White are going to ride two Harley Davidson motorcycles across the US next month.

Sounds like a breeze, you say?

Well, you’re pretty close to the truth. They’ll be wearing kilts. And they are going to do the entire 2,913 miles in 10 days.

300 miles a day on a motor bike in kilts.

“Breeze” is not the word.

You do know what a Scotsman wears under his kilt, don’t you?

Can you imagine all that flapping about on the Interstate?

Actually, Colin and Iain are having some kilts tailored for the ocassion. Colin emailed me the other day to say, “We are having them specially designed by Howie Nicholsby. He is responsible for designing kilts for Vin Deisel, Robbie Williams etc. We are having four each from lightweight to heavyweight. There will be pockets, fluorescent strips down the side and, most importantly, Velcro to stop them blowing up in the Arizona wind!!!”

You can hear the relief Stateside, can’t you?

You can find out more about Colin and Iain’s odyssey over at Kilts Across America, along with information about the Moebius Research Trust, its objectives and its fundraising effort.