True Vintage

I guess the t-shirt I'm wearing isn't truly vintage...but it feels pretty special.

I didn't ever wear my Bettendorf Jazz Band t-shirt when I was actually in the jazz band (except at games when it was mandated). I hid it in my parents house in a place I'd hoped it would never crawl out of. How horrifying.

I went home to Bettendorf a couple weeks ago and my mother wanted me to review a pile of shirts that she wants to rid herself of. And there it was, a glorious black tee with gold lettering...and a ferocious silkscreened bulldog roaring for all the world (much like I roared on my trombone a decade ago).

I had to have it. I knew it would only compliment my other finds, such as "Asthma is Sexy", "I Love My Geek", and "I'd Rather Be Fighting the Man".

It occurred to me as I wore it proudly to work today that it was my experience. I have dozens of shirts from Rag-o-Rama and Rockstar Rags that are other people's adventures. This shirt was my own (although let's be real, jazz band is pretty lame...playing "25 or 6 to 4" was not my high school highlight). But instead of wearing an old ratty jersey that says "Jim", with his number on the back, this was mine. I belonged to this group...MY experience.

By the way, it fits perfectly.