ADVERTISEMENTS ON CLOTHES

In my continuing effort to bore the hell out of you, I offer these observations.

Over the years I have accumulated T-shirts, sweat-shirts and sweaters emblazoned with messages.  Most of these were purchased at yard sales, second-hand stores, and souvenir shops.

But I have others which Hospitals and Health Care facilities sent home with me at discharge time. Although I had never seen some of these before, they had my name penned on them in ink.  I suspect that administration personnel felt that I wouldn't mind and this way they could clear out a bit of their overstock of unclaimed clothing.

When I went into health care, I weighed a sickly 220 pounds soaking wet. and wore extra-large shirts.  When I was discharged, I weighed a healthy 160 pounds dried out but still wore extra-large shirts. However, most of the shirts discharged with me were extra-extra-large and extra-extra-extra-large and fit me like maternity dresses.

Many of these shirts and others in my closet had advertisements printed on them.  This intrigued me.

Let me share a few gems from my shirt collection:

SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY (SRU)

This is a university located in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.  It was founded in 1889 and is co-ed.  

Legend has it that as Seneca Indians were chasing some soldiers across a rocky creek, the soldiers crossed easily because they were wearing boots, but the Indians had on moccasins that caused them to fall on the creek's slippery rocks.

(I had never heard of SRU until I found the sweat-shirt with its advertisement.)

STAR WARS

This is shown on a T-Shirt that accompanied me from Health Care.  It shows the usual movie folks like Darth Vader and Han Solo. 

(I saw the movie many years ago, but I certainly would not want to advertise it from my clothing.)

    

HAWAII THE ALOHA STATE

This was also a discharge gift from Health Care. It is a sweat-shirt which has a typed label showing my name just covering the extra-extra large size indication.

(I have never been to Hawaii and would never wear this bit of clothing that fits like a dress and which would probably trigger lots of "Hula Hula Haha.")

YLING_YLANG BEACH RESORT

My T-shirt says that this resort is located in Montezuma, Costa Rica. I assume it is named after the oil derived from the tropical plant cananga odorata. Yling-ylang is reputed to do lots of healthful things to your body, such as lowering your blood pressure and reducing depression.  It may also be good when used as an insect repellant.  

(I have no idea where I got this shirt.  I've never been to Costa Rica.)

When I worked in Foreign Claims for the Social Security Administration, I would read letters from retirees who had relocated to that country.  Most said that they were able to live in villas, eat gourmet food and have the assistance of servants, while still banking most of the rest of their monthly Social Security checks.

CENTRAL MARYLAND PHYSICS OLYMPICS

This is written on a bright red T-shirt, along with a picture of Einstein.  I probably bought this shirt in Eldersburg, (Central) Maryland because of Mr. Einstein's picture.

Each year local High School physics students get together to learn more about their favorite subject.

(More power to them!)

STRAIGHT  OUTTA  NEW  BEIGE!

My good-looking cousins, Allen and Diana sent me this warm hooded sweat-shirt. The shirt words commemorate the influence of the people of Portuguese descendance who provide my New Bedford home-town with interesting language.

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Go and read some T-shirts!