Three years ago (October 27, 2004) I wrote an essay titled “Life, According to Sweatshirts” which reviewed some of the sayings that can be found on sweatshirts and proposed the idea that we can learn something about life in general by studying them, as well as learn something about the convictions of the people wearing those shirts.
I haven’t let this idea go. In fact, a recent catalog offers new sayings that I like and want to enjoy without buying every sweatshirt involved. Imagine a black sweatshirt with the following sayings:
Life is short: Read fast. Librarians: The thin blue line between you and the FBI. Mathlete. Some days it’s not even worth chewing through the restraints. Everything I needed to know I learned from the Three Stooges. Musicians Duet Better. If you’re telekinetic and you know it, raise your hand.
My favorite sweatshirt, however, is the one that says “They say I have A.D.D. but they just don’t understand. Oh, Look! A Chicken!”
My life-partner, Earl, could probably have been the poster child for A.D.D., had he been born forty years later. By then, there was an understanding of what A.D.D. was, even if there was no solution. But in Earl’s day, there was no understanding; so he probably tried the patience of his parents, every teacher he encountered, and possibly every boss. That said, Earl has accomplished much in spite of his A.D.D.
Which leads me to believe that while sweatshirts offer profound wisdom, one must take their words with a grain of salt.
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