That's an interesting story. I was a classically trained pianist and then later in life I lived in Cape Breton where I was the odd man out because I didn't play fiddle. Unlike Alexander's experience, there everybody seems to have an interest in it or plays it. So at age 40 I picked up the fiddle and I haven't turned back since.
I'll just add one more comment, though, to something Alexander said about the difference between violin and fiddle. Itzhak Perlman and maestro Pinchas Zukerman both refer to their instruments as the “fiddle” and they play beautifully the colloquial music of their own homeland.