I don't wear t-shirts that often, except when I am getting my lounge on at home or working out in the gym. Despite the minimal wear I get out of them, I seem to have an arsenal of tees in my closet. In addition to not wearing them that often, I only wear a certain few from the stash. These are the ones that I wear over and over again, until they become rags and I can't wear them anymore due to the indecency of the hole sizes.
I had many friends in college whose grandmother's had made them quilts out of their favorite t-shirts. I got to thinking about that yesterday as I was folding, wondering what shirts I would select if I were getting a quilt. It's funny how a simple tee has a long story behind it. As I was going through Adam's and my shirts, I began pondering how long we had had each one, where we got it, why we liked it so much, etc. I became nostalgic with many of my t-shirts, realizing that I had had some of them since childhood and the array of memories tied with that. I woke up this morning still thinking about those shirts and decided to share some of mine and Adam's favorites with you.
Heads up... if you are thinking that I once was a groupie and have an amazing concert tee from that Phish concert in 98, well think again.... I'm not that cool. However, hopefully you will find some of my shirts funny and maybe a little cool in their own way.
Keep Austin Weird w/Willie Nelson Shirt
It's hard to tell from the picture, but this shirt has a characture of Willie Nelson, standing on an armadillo, and smoking a joint. This shirt is hilarious and it depicts the carefree yet unique way of life in Austin. The "Keep Austin Weird" was started by various business owners in efforts for the public to support local businesses. I bought this shirt at a locally owned store called Tyler's that sits on Guadelupe St. (aka The Drag) which is directly across from UT's campus. I remember that I bought this shirt the first week of graduate school. My undergraduate experience at UT had not been the best, partly due to my own decisions to not become involved. When I got accepted into UT again for my master's degree, I made a promise to myself that I would do everything in my power to make this experience unforgetable (in a good way). This tee was significant for me because it symbolized my commitment to be apart of a community for the first time.
Southeast Knights Football Shirt
This shirt belonged to Adam in high school and he gave it to me in the early months of our budding relationship. This tee is one of my favorites because it is huge and soft, but also it represents a big step that AP and I had taken to be together. This shirt had been a favorite of Adam's for the same reason's I like it. It was almost painful for him to part with it, but it was something that he wanted to give to me. I had asked him for a t-shirt of his that I could keep so I could be cliche and "have one of my boyfriend's shirts." Adam took a risk by giving me this one because he was so closely tied to it. That was a turning point in our relationship when I realized that he was legit and wasn't going anywhere. Had he had any doubt that our London romance was going to be doomed, he would have given me a stupid, scratchy shirt he didn't want or he would have not given me one at all. Now that's love....
New York Ballet Shop
My mom bought me this tee when I was 8 years old on our trip to New York. Yes, by some luck of the universe it still fits and I wear that shirt to sleep in. I was an avid ballet dancer, even at the young age of 8, and I remember that I was ecstatic to get this shirt. One, all my ballet buddies were going to be jealous that I went to a ballet shop in New York. Two, I was going to be even cooler when I cut the neck out of it (because that was how we did it in those days). Three, my grandmother (Granny) took me, my cousins, my mom, and my aunt all on that New York trip. My friends would be so envious that I had a cool grandma to take us on trips like that. Twenty years later, when I wear this t-shirt, I remember my ballet days and the many times I wore this shirt, leg warmers, and trash bag pants (looking cool no less) at Nutcracker rehearsals. I also remember the fun times and laughs that my family had on that New York trip... eating at the restuarant at the top of one of the Twin Towers, going on a 2am limo ride, and haggling over a fake Louis purse on Canal Street. I will never throw this tee away because of those memories.
BB King's Blues Bar T-Shirt
I got this shirt in Memphis, TN on a family trip with my mom and dad. I can't remember the year that we went... I was pretty young. I do remember that we flew into Arkansas and drove all the way to Memphis and then onto Nashville. We drove through some pretty backwoods country, but the scenery was undeniably beautiful. If I would have known about the movie Deliverance then, I would have hummed that banjo tune in my head the whole way there. Though I never would have admitted to it at the time, I had so much fun sitting in the front seat (I got really carsick in the back) with my dad listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Magic Johnson T-Shirt
This is another tee bestowed on me by Adam. However, unlike the Knights shirt, Adam only gave this one to me because it was his as a young kid and it is a bit snug on him as a middle aged man Also, he doesn't pull off the pop-punk look off very well. Anyway, at the time of receival, I had strick orders to take care of this shirt because it is a classic. Adam has loved the Lakers ever since he can remember and his favorite player was Magic. Anytime I have this on he tells me I am wearing a legacy.
Ice Cube T-Shirt
I included this shirt because I find it hilarious. This is really Adam's shirt, I might only wear it if you payed me. This shirt is a relec of his disturbed teen years living in the Midwest. Every once in a while AP will come down this stairs wearing this item and I have to chuckle to myself. First of all, its got the arms cut out like he's about to go lift something heavy. Secondly, it represents the legendary rap icon, Ice Cube. Finally, I love when he wears this shirt because I get to ask him, "Are we there yet?"
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