My Life in Laundry

Whie folding laundry tonight, I caught myself in history, the personal history those shirts contained. Enjoy:

Mercyhurst College, one navy blue, one long sleeved gray: My seldom-mentioned alma mater comes up every time I scramble out with the basked and a pocket of quarters. A few friends remain there, mostly in the Archaeology Department, plus a few profs elsewhere and a few friends that settled in Pennsylvania's Lake Erie port. The fact that I should hands with our college president, who later got outed as a short eyes still rankles me. The scandal, his lack of response and the college's ridiculously inept reaction to such heavyweight charges have ensured they will never see a dime in contributions from me. But the shirts symbolize my good memories at college , not the arrogant pederast who ran it. 

UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, gray: This came from my aborted post-Bonny Incident Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction. I believe Tarantino attended there. Maybe I should wear it on Oscar Night. In short, I consider the banana slug the single-best college mascot ever. 

Vise-Grip T-Shirt celebrating the Irwin Industrial Tools Plan in DeWitt, Nebraska: This is a dinosaur; my father worked at the plant briefly in the middle of the past decade. In 2008, they closed up, and the Pride of Nebraska became just another American brand with a "Made in China" stamp.  It pretty much devastated the small town outside Lincoln.  I still regret my inability to take a trip out there during Dad's brief term in Nebraska (one of my needed states). 

Race for the Cure, Nashville 2007: I stayed out until 1 that night because friends came into town, then ran the race that circled the Bicentennial Mall. The two fine women who edit my work at HLIS both endured breast cancer treatment within my first year in Nashville. They exhibited a toughness I'll ever know. 

2008 Tennessee State Parks Running Tour, Halloween Haunt: I own a lot of race shirts, but I have only run one race three times. Despite an uninspiring course - two loops around a  placid lake - I keep coming back. Runners-up: 2009 East Nashville Tomato Festival, 2008 Soles for Souls 10K, the first race I ran at Metro Center, the soulless office development where I work (pun intended). 

There were more, mostly monochromatic. I could tell you where I wore them, but if you read this far, you deserve a break.