A Sentimental Purge

We’ve recently purchased some new bedroom furniture, and so we used its pending delivery as the needed nudge to purge our collection of t-shirts. What a challenge that turned out to be, but also what a fun walk down memory lane.

Take, for instance, my Cleveland Indians t-shirt with Belliard written across the back. Ronnie Belliard played second base for the Cleveland Indians from 2004 to 2006, when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series that year. A good deal for Belliard and the Cards, not so much for the Indians, who got Hector Luna in return. Luna’s eight errors and .012 batting average in spring training at the beginning of 2007 put an end to that deal. Do you think it’s safe to get a Francisco Lindor shirt as a replacement?

The other Indians t-shirt in my drawer has fun memories attached to it, as it’s a shirt with a nametag: “Mrs. Sizemore.” During Grady Sizemore’s stay in Cleveland from 2004-2011, he became a fan favorite, both for his success on the diamond as well as his dimpled good looks. Many a young (and not so young) Tribe fan claimed membership in the Grady’s Ladies fan club, and it wasn’t unusual for a girl to hold up a sign, “will you marry me?” when Grady came to the plate.

When I wore the shirt to one of his games, a man in our row said, “Wow, you’re Grady Sizemore’s mother!” I played along, unwilling to admit that I was just as smitten with this cute baseball player as were my young female friends. He’s struggled with injuries in recent years, but I sure would have loved for Grady to join the popular Coco Crisp in his recent signing to the Tribe roster. Maybe I should hang on to that shirt for one more year.

I’ve got two Cavs shirts, but given the dramatic finish to the basketball playoffs last year, I’m proudly wearing those. There’s also the purple and gold of Ashland University, the orange and black for the Ashland Arrows, and the Buckeyes’ scarlet and gray. Since I only have one of each, they made the cut. As for the Browns, well, I’m hanging on for another year or two. I’m not overly optimistic for this season, but then again, I still have the Buffalo Bills sweatshirt I bought when they went for their first Super Bowl win – in 1990. They haven’t won the big one yet, but hope does spring eternal, especially the first week in September.

Larry and I have also collected a number of annual musicamp t-shirts, each with its own thematic design, ranging from ‘Armor of God’ to ‘Where is the love?’ However, as much as we cherish the memories of those camps, some of the kids we’ve taught to play an instrument now are signing their own kids up for trombone lessons, so the shirts are bound for recycling.

Here’s the guiding question: will I ever wear this again? If the answer is ‘no,’ then I can’t hold back anymore. I’ve got to play the Elsa card and ‘let it go!’ But just in case, I did keep one each of my Live United t-shirts, Kroc Rocks t-shirts, and the tied-dyed Massillon Museum Island Party shirts. I’m also holding onto the Old Orchard Beach, Maine shirt for those days when I need to conjure up an imaginary whiff of the ocean, and my Independence Day Parade baton twirler shirt, just because.

I hadn’t expected that purging my t-shirts would leave me humming the old Doris Day favorite, but there I was, taking a sentimental journey, renewing old memories and setting my heart at ease before the t-shirts hit the discard pile. Ama Ata Aidoo tells us, “Humans, not places, make memories.” Yet it is the locations, the dried flowers, the photographs, and yes, even the t-shirts, that remind us of a walk along the beach, that magical championship season, or our own “one brief shining moment.” Thanks, t-shirt drawer, for the memories. How lovely it was. I’m so sorry that it’s time for us to say ‘so long.’