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My life in T-shirts
Another visit to home; another opportunity to clean out old stuff.
This time my sister helped me, and we managed to sort through every piece of clothing I own and determine what could stay and what could go. But unlike last time, I was careful with my delicate memories. T-shirts in particular require a lot of attention.
With all of the sailing I did, t-shirts became a pretty important way to mark major events in my life. Every regatta had a shirt, so it became possible to identify summers by the shirts I received. In those days, getting dressed (at least in the summers, when I wore t-shirts almost every day) was like a blast from the past — memories of road trips, friends, wins and losses were attached to every worn-out shirt.
Geeks also like t-shirts, you know. Someone should have warned my parents that having a son who was both a sailor and a geek would result in an overwhelming collection of shirts — but they were not so lucky. Before Jen and I tackled this mess, I had a whole drawer full of t-shirts in Green Lake, plus a healthy supply in Madison.
Anyway, I saved all the really meaningful ones. No one is trashing my childhood this time around. My favorites:
1996 ILYA Youth Champs, Lake Beulah
One of my favorite shirts, from one of my favorite regattas. Lake Beulah was my home away from home for many summers, and the sailing there was (almost) always great. Of course, most of the fun was had off the water — all my best friends were there.
Mac OS X pre-release developer schwag
My grandpa was an Apple Developer Connection member for a long time, and he managed to snag this great t-shirt while Mac OS X was in public beta. I used to wear this shirt around, and it definitely made me a few friends. My favorite part is the back, which says: “Coming to a Macintosh near you.”
Larson Arial Explosives, Second Annual Blastfest
After the Larsons’ first foray into commerical-grade fireworks was deemed a success, they decided to make it a tradition. And all good traditions need a t-shirt, so daugher Molly threw one together. Recent shirts have been much flashier, but this original one is still a favorite.
1993 Optimist Nationals, Lake Geneva
During my first year of serious competition, we learned that the national championship for Optimists (the boat I sailed) were coming to Lake Geneva, Wis., so I signed up. Months later, I found myself on the lake with 150 other kids and totally overwhelmed. I finished 75th (right in the middle).
Alien Skin Software shwag
The guys from Alien Skin are always the life of the party at Macworld. I picked up this cool shirt (and some pins) during Macworld 2001, then spent the rest of the week drooling over new Powerbook G4s. That trip was my first introduction to San Francisco, and I am still indebted to Scott Buchholz for the opportunity.