RobinHood of the HighLands - Patriot or a Thief

On one of his frequent visits to the Blockbuster Video shop, yours truly stumbled across a fantastic DVD…."Rob Roy" with Liam Neeson playing the lead.
What caught my eye was the tagline :
"Honor made him a man. Courage made him a hero. History made him a Legend!"
The movie had so much impact on yours truly, that he packed his bags and left for Scotland to visit the grave of the greatest of all McGregors - Robert Roy McGregor.
Now lets talk about this guy Rob. Before further reading I would like to warn everyone that the fantastic tale that I am about to narrate is a real one. But, it was told to me with a Scottish flavour by Marty (the guy in the picture). And now, I am going to pass it on to you after adding my own variety of Indian Masala.
Lets fasten our seat belts. We are on our way to 18th Century Scotland...a time that Rob Roy was a part of. Robert was not a huge man. But, he had really long hands. This made him look even smaller. But, he was an expert swordsman and his long hands were a sure help!!
Whenever I play TT, i wish that i had longer hands. But, that is a different story that I will write about that some other day.
The McGregors were the most despised and persecuted clans in the entire highlands. Such was their notoriety that even to bear the name McGregor was illegal.
Rob was one of the most skillful cattle lifters. The legend has it that Rob and his men used to come from behind the clowds and just walk away with the cattle...no footprints...no signs of struggle...just deal calm!!!
There was a huge bounty on his head. A lot many kings and nobles tried to bring him down but none prevailed. Even though Rob was physically stronger than most of his opponents, his main strengh lay in his head... His mind was always thinking new ways to defeat his enemies.
Once he was pursued by a group of bounty hunters. He was all alone and they were 16, all armed to their teeth. Knowing that facing them there would mean death, Rob ran. He stormed into an inn. Now, ordinary people would think that this is a dead end...but not Roy.
He stood inside the inn waiting, knowing that only two could pass through the in door at any given moment. After 10 minutes, there was blood all over the inn floor. And Rob was the "Last Man Standing". It is another story, that Rob had to pay 23 copper coins as the cleaning charges!!!

After this incident and a score more like this, Rob decided that it was enough. He decided to reform. He was not educated, and the MNCs had not started mass recruitement drives yet. So, there was nothing that Rob could do. What he knew best was to steal cattle.

So he started a new company... "Rob Roy Anti-Cattle Lifting Pvt. Ltd."
The vision of the company was to see that nobody in Scotland ever lose their cattle.

The business was flourishing. Everyone knew that Rob was the best cattle thief ever...So he would be their best protector too. The people paid him 'hafta' so that he and his men protect their cattle from being stolen (read: do not steal their cattle).

Now as their business grew, they had competition. The police were claiming that they would do the same and at a much lower price than what Rob demanded. But, there was so much work that both the companies managed to earn a lot. The latter are doing it even as we speak!!! At least back home in India.

Rob Roy was also know for his honour, pride and patriotism. He was the bravest warrior who forgave even his worst enemies. He was the RobinHood of Scotland. He used to rob from the rich and pass it on to the needy. He borrowed a large sum, for the upliftment of their village, from a local landlord.... the money which he could not return back!!

He died in 1734, a sick man. He renounced all his sins and forgave all his enemies. But, even now his tombstome reads "McGregor despite them". Even death could not stop Rob from using the most feared and detested name of all - McGregor!!!!

You may now unfasten your seatbelts. Our journey for the day is over. Hope that your journey was a comfortable one.

Until next time! Your travel mate.