Dark Side of the Pawn or Pawn of the Dark-Side

I have too many t-shirts. Most of them are industry shirts from the high-tech bubble days that have been collected from trade-shows from all around the world. They're all stored away in a box in the garage and I'll probably never wear any of them.

The t-shirt. It's really quite a strange concept when you stop to think about it. Gaggles of people, including myself,* behaving like walking billboards, providing free advertising for sports teams, rock bands, personalities, corporate logos, and etc.

I don't know when it became popular to put images and signs on the traditionally short-sleeved, upper-torso garment, but today, t-shirting is a multi-billion dollar global industry. The casual uniform of choice for the early 21st century.

I remember one particular T that I wore in grade school which featured an old looking, long-haired stoney-eyed hippie brandishing the dual-fingered peace sign. Across the image swept the groovily sculpted text, "I'm so far out that I'm in." I made it myself... with help from my mom, who actually did all the work of ironing the image onto a clean and wrinkle-free pale green t-shirt. No one could iron better than my mom. I remember how the toxic fumes rose up and permeated the room as she pressed the iron firmly against the paper side of the appliqué. The heat from the iron transferred through to the rubber-ish chemical substance on the other side of the paper appliqué which melted into the fabrique of the shirt, bonding permanently to the garment. We never considered that it might be harmful to inhale the fumes... we were in Tooele after all.

I had a good selection of concert shirts when I was in high school. I could wear a different T every day of the week. All of my shirts from that era are gone now except for my very extra special Residents Eskimo t-shirt which has recently been commandeered by my son. It's quite faded now, and way too small for me, but it suits him perfectly. Its funny to think that I wore it when I was about his age.

Currently, my favorite t-shirt features the unmistakable image of leftest-rebel Che Guevara as an Imperial Storm Trooper. I purchased it in Mexico a couple of years ago when I was vacationing during the holidays with the Mueller Clan. The artist was incredibly insightful to envision Che as a pawn of the dark side. Around these parts, Senor Guevara is renowned as some kind of folk war-hero/freedom fighter. Ironically, these are the same people who claim to be anti-war. One person's terrorist, is another's freedom-fighter.

* Sporting my Phil Hendrie Show T as I whapetty tap away at the keyboard.