Dave's Daily T-Shirts

T-shirt #365: IRISH TUX

2010-12-31T15:57:00.004-05:00

Holy crap, I made it! And like I have written before, I did not get here alone. My family, friends, Facebook friends, Hope Lodge guests, internet sponsors, and local businesses all helped me get here. Thanks to everyone who donated t-shirts and read this blog during the year!

22 years ago I was getting back from the hospital after a 4 hour surgery, 11 day stay, and Crohn’s Disease diagnosis. I think tonight will be a bit better than that night in 1988. I think due to the fact that I was getting back from the hospital helped me to remember every New Year’s Eve since. Here’s a peek:

1988-1989: Quiet night at my parents’ house after getting back from the hospital

1989-1990: Party at my cousin Katie’s house

1990-1991: Party at a (then) friend of a friend’s house (his parents were away) in Grafton who is now a Worcester police officer

1991-1992: Party at a friend’s in Westboro

1992-1993: Party at the same place as 91-92 (this is when I got my David Way sign)

1993-1994: Quiet night watching movies at a friend in Westboro

1994-1995: Party at UMass – the only New Year’s Eve I ever drank!

1995-1996: Road trip to NYC to be with my girlfriend

1996-1997: Phish concert at the Fleet Center

1997-1998: First Night in Boston

1998-1999: Home alone in Waltham, watched Return of the Jedi

1999-2000: Drove “Dave’s Millennium Taxi” (Mom’s minivan) to my roommate’s friend’s party

2000-2001: Took limo and saw Barenaked Ladies at Fleet Center

2001-2002: Party at Andy’s in Grafton

2002-2003: In Buffalo with girlfriend

2003-2004: Went to JJ O’Rourke’s with roommate

2004-2005: Quite night with a girl I was pseudo-dating

2005-2006: Party at a friend’s in Westboro

2006-2007: Made an appearance at a friend’s party in Westboro, was back at apartment watching a movie when it was midnight

2007-2008: Working at Hope Lodge

2008-2009: Working at Hope Lodge

2009-2010: Watching Mark’s band (Catch and Release, Dirty Fever?) at G. Willikers

2010-2011: End of blog party!

There will be much more to report later...

Happy New Year’s everyone and I hope you come up with and stick to a great resolution!!!!

I will have another blog for 2011, stay tuned for http://mylifescanned.blogspot.com!

T-shirt #364: MAY THE MASS TIMES ACCELERATION BE WITH YOU

2010-12-30T12:27:00.004-05:00

When Snorg Tees said they would donate t-shirts to my blog, this one was a must have. What better way to change my label from Star Wars dork to Star Wars dork with a basic knowledge of physics?

This is the 15^th Star Wars-related t-shirt that I’ve worn this year. For a list of the others you can check out this Empire Strikes Back t-shirt that I designed.

I do love the original Star Wars movies. I even started a Facebook page (Dear Mr. Lucas, please make a Star Wars Theme Park) because I think going to a Star Wars them park would be amazing…can you imagine walking past a life-sized AT-AT? But then I heard they were releasing the Star Wars movies in 3D. I think I might enjoy watching the originals in 3D, but I refuse to give any more money to George Lucas by seeing these movies in the theatre again.

How many more times does he have to “re-imagine” these great flicks? How important is trying to climb that all-time box office gross list? How much money does Lucas need to make from people going to see these movies? So, I started another Facebook page. This one is called “Lucas should donate Star Wars 3D profits to charity”.

George Lucas is worth $3.5 billion according to Forbes. Come on, Mr. Lucas, I think you can do something good with the future 3D release of the Star Wars movies. Tell me all the profits are going to charity, and I will gladly give my money to see them again. May the Force be with us all…

PS- ONLY ONE MORE T-SHIRT TO GO!

Off to Carl's for some end-of-the-year video game hockey!

T-shirt #363: Etnies Ryan Sheckler Autograph (#3)

2010-12-29T20:12:00.002-05:00

One thing is for sure: I couldn’t have started or finished this blog without help from other people. My friend Glen gave me the MacBook I have been posting these daily entries on, and my sister Megan gave me the idea to start it.

During the summer when I figured out I wasn’t going to have enough t-shirts to complete 2010 wearing a different t-shirt each day, more people helped me make sure I did.

My family and friends helped, which wasn’t much of a surprise. A few Hope Lodge guests were happy to pitch in and help the Lodge.

Then, people I didn’t expect started helping out. Website after website said they would donate. http://www.80stees.com, http://www.benjerry.com, http://www.bustedtees.com, http://www.chowdaheadz.com, http://www.crazydavestshirts.com, http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/funny-t-shirts/, http://www.hottopic.com/hottopic/Homepage.jsp, http://www.lastexittonowhere.com (out of England!), http://www.letterfromjohn.com/, http://www.lifeisgood.com/, http://www.nerdyshirts.com/, http://www.psychoreindeer.com/, http://www.snorgtees.com/, http://store.theonion.com/, http://www.threadless.com/, and http://www.topatoco.com/ all donated t-shirts.

Facebook friends I hadn’t seen since grade school and others I had never met in person sent me shirts.

Then, a brother of one of my Facebook friends said he would donate Etnies t-shirts autographed by Ryan Sheckler. Even though all of the website donations were unbelievable to me, this Etnies donation really blew me away.

I really can’t thank everyone for all of their support for this blog enough. You all made it possible, and you all are helping Hope Lodge. Thank you again to my family, friends, and all the websites and businesses that donated t-shirts to me. And thank you especially today to Christi and Robert Brink, Etnies, and Ryan Sheckler!

You can see this t-shirt listed on Ebay here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250749136629#ht_500wt_1156

And for more info on Etnies and Ryan Sheckler:

http://www.ryansheckler.com/bio

http://www.ryansheckler.com/videos/post/sheckler-skates-at-x-games-16

http://etnies.com

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE, ALMOST AT 365!!!

T-shirt #362: Hockey Night in Canada

2010-12-28T23:53:00.003-05:00

First of all, thanks to my awesome mom for getting me this t-shirt! (I don’t think they sell it anymore, but you can see others here: http://bit.ly/hnicshirts)

This is me standing near the “Bruins Corner” in my parents’ house. Do your parents have a Bruins Corner? I didn’t think so. Oh, they do? Does it have a picture your father took of the last goal scored at the Boston Garden autographed by the player (Adam Oates) that scored it? This one does. Pretty cool, I know. I’ve mentioned it before and I say it again proudly: I am from a hockey family…

Yes, we McGraths love our hockey and we love our Boston Bruins. Even though I wasn’t there, I’m sure both of my parents (and perhaps my sisters) were yelling with joy after Mark Recchi scored the game winner with less than 20 seconds left. We don’t hold back when it comes to our beloved B’s.

Even though most of my career BWMs (Bruins Watching Minutes) have taken place at my parents’ house with family, many of my career HPMs (Hockey Playing Minutes) have been with people outside my family. Even though I never played in organized leagues growing up, I loved to play and I played as often as I could. I think my junior year in high school I played pond hockey 2-3 times a week from December through the end of February. And I would venture to say that 95% of those times, I was playing with one of my best friends, Andy.

Even though our “Pond Hockey Days in Massachusetts” weren’t going to get us scholarships to BC or Harvard, they were always great times (okay, there were a couple of times Andy had to break up "chippiness" between me and a Grafton kid) and they were a big part of starting what I know is a lifetime friendship. And I bring up Andy today because it was one of the rare days of the year that I actually got to hang out with him. I wish it could be more, but I take what I can get…

Andy was #2 in our high school class. He wasn’t #1 because that guy had one more A+ than him. I personally think Andy would have made a much better Valedictorian (he not only got A’s, he rowed crew, ran track, could play guitar, and was (dammit) better than me at hockey!). So, he’s “wicked smaht”. He went to Harvard, got his PhD at Harvard, and is now a professor of anthropology at the University of California. Oh yeah, he also published this book: http://amzn.to/andysbook

But Andy is not a brainiac with no social skills. The guy is hilarious, witty, and one of the few who laugh with me when others might shake their heads and think “well at least he’s entertaining himself…” He’s also one of the kindest people you will ever meet. He supported me through my cancer and struggles with drinking, and is always there for me if I need someone to talk to. Definitely someone I’m lucky to have in my corner.

That’s the great news. The not so great news is that I only get to see Andy about once a year. His schedule only allows him to come back to Massachusetts during the holidays, and for most of that time (understandably) he is with his family. I have visions of the day I can afford to fly out to California (or Oregon to see my friend Glen) on a weekend whim, but for now those are just daydreams. And I’m not one to harp on the negative.

I hung out with Andy today, and it was great (as always). I love the guy like a brother, and cherish every minute we get to see each other. We saw Tron today, and one of the themes of the movie was trying to create the “perfect world”. My vision of a perfect world has many things, and one of them is enough hockey rinks so you can play anytime anywhere. The other is a world where I get to see my close friends more often (and yes, play hockey with some of them!). No matter what world I live in, I know I’ll have Andy as a close friend. For that I am very thankful, no matter how many times I get to see him. Love you, man!

T-shirt #361: Employee of the Month

2010-12-27T17:49:00.001-05:00

This shirt is one of many that my wonderful sister Carolyn got for me…thanks, Ca!

Although I have never been honored as Employee of the Month at any of my jobs, I did get the “Staff Star” a couple of times when I was the lead teacher of a residential program.

At Hope Lodge there are only two fulltime employees, so I like to think that my boss and I swap this title every other month.

Even though I have never officially been an employee of the month, here are some tips that might get you that title someday:

Get to work on time every day – if this is a problem it means you don’t know how to use an alarm clock. If you keep hitting snooze, put the alarm clock on the other side of your bedroom.
Don’t leave work at the earliest time you are allowed to (I admit, I did do this a lot when I was a teacher).
Bring in cookies or other treats for your supervisor and co-workers – rule of thumb: the “chocolatier”, the better
Be nicer than usual to anyone you think wants to be your enemy – if you throw negativity back in their face, it almost always comes back to haunt you
Don’t come up with lame excuses as to why you can’t cover for someone – supervisors should remember this stuff
If you are really sick, STAY HOME – getting other people sick will not help the workplace
Don’t complain about work when you are at work: Be happy you have a job in the first place and if you need to vent about it, do it elsewhere (NOT on Facebook!)
Be honest – Only take on more responsibilities if you think there’s room on your workplate for them
If you’re in a meeting, it’s much better to bring up good ideas than to keep looking at your watch
Unless you are a rock star, professional athlete, or other celebrity – do NOT let your sex tape get into the wrong hands!

T-shirt #359: IRISH STUD

2010-12-26T23:22:00.002-05:00

I will make no statements as to whether or not what this t-shirt claims is true. That’s for everyone else to judge…

But, here is a list of the Top Ten Things That Make Being Irish The Best:

Drinking – whether you want to drink a lot or drink none at all, Irish heritage is a great excuse
Music and step dancing – Along with the drinking goes traditional music, sessions, and dancing. Irish people know how to party!
Irish writers – The list is long but includes James Joyce, Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, William Yeats, Oscar Wilde, and Jonathan Swift.
St. Patrick’s Day – Yup, we have our own holiday.
John F. Kennedy – We proudly claim one of the best presidents of the US.
Irish sayings and blessings – Here are a few of my favorites: “May you be in heaven a half hour before the Devil knows you’re dead.”, “May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.”, “As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.”
Sunblock – Being able to brag about how high your SPF is: I want to come out with my own line of sunblock that just says “Irish” on it.
Potatoes and stew – Even though Ireland isn’t known for it’s wonderful cuisine, I will never get tired of eating potatoes and beef stew
Humor – Have you met an Irish person with no sense of humor? I don’t think I have.
Family – Even though everyone may not agree on everything and there may be that “crazy relative” you always worry about Irish families tend to love each other no matter what.
(Our list goes to 11) Irish names are better – Liam, Conor, Brendan, Patrick, Colin, Colleen, Shannon, Maura, Cailin, Kiara, etc., etc.

PS- This shirt was donated (thanks, Mrs. T!) so I’m not sure where it’s from, but I found it here: http://www.shopirish.com/Irish-Stud-T-Shirt

T-shirt #358: Holy Bible, TLDNR

2010-12-25T14:37:00.001-05:00

If you don’t know, TLDNR stands for “Too long, did not read”. Luckily, I know God has a sense of humor. And He also knows that, thanks to my St. John’s (http://www.stjohnshigh.org) education, I have read the Bible. I may not be able to quote chapters and verses, but I do remember (what I think is) the main message…

I love Christmas, but I can’t honestly say that I believe Jesus was God in human form. I do think that it’s amazing that after 2,000 years people are still talking about and worshiping the son of a carpenter. And I think Jesus’ message was great and simple. He wanted people to love each other. Like I wrote for my “Coexist” t-shirt (http://bit.ly/coexistshirt), he preached the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. But I see many “Christians” not doing that. I see them preaching hate. I see them excluding others. I don’t see them acting like Jesus. I wouldn’t be surprised if some Christians said this t-shirt was sacrilegious. But like many religious groups, it’s the extremists that you hear about. Not all Christians are hateful excluders just like not all Muslims believe “jihad” gives them the right to kill non-believers.

What I don’t understand is why the loving/understanding/peacefulness of Christmas can’t be applied to the other 364 days of the year. Little acts of kindness, generosity to strangers, and Love can happen every day of the year. If everyone lived by the Golden Rule every day, it could be like Christmas all year long.

People decide to fight and be selfish. Religious zealots choose to take their beliefs and turn them into hate, war, and exclusion. Leaders have not figured out a way to live in peace. We are not taking care of our earth home or our family of humankind.

To me, Christmas is not a religious holiday. I go to church, but it’s more for my mother than for God. I do believe in God, but my God doesn’t care what you call Him or who/what you think is divine. My God just wants (like Jesus) everyone to get along and take care of each other. My God wants no one left behind. My God doesn’t like people using His name for hateful acts. My God does want people to act like it’s Christmas every day, but doesn’t care if it’s December 25^th or June 25^th or a religious holiday.

To me, the real Christmas and Christian thing to do is very simple. Love, and do it all year long. You certainly don’t need the Bible to do that…

PS- thanks to Busted Tees (http://www.bustedtees.com/tldnr) for donating this shirt!

T-shirt #357: Santa Costume

2010-12-24T22:15:00.003-05:00

If this isn’t the perfect t-shirt to wear on Christmas Eve, I don’t know what is. And in the true spirit of Santa and Christmas, I am in the giving mood today.

I have written often in this blog about how I can’t stand greed and how meaningless material possessions are. Well, I can’t really write that unless I do something to back it up. These t-shirts are a nice start, but I am putting most of the rest of my belongings up for one big auction to benefit Hope Lodge. I don’t even know if I will get any bids, but you never know. Please forward it to anyone you know that might be interested!

Here’s the Ebay listing for "All my stuff to benefit Hope Lodge":

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250746982699#ht_1408wt_1141

And the video that goes with it:

I am so thankful to be happy and healthy on Christmas, and to be surrounded by people that I love. Thank you to all my family and friends who have supported me, supported this blog, and made me realize that the most important thing in life is the people you have in it and not the amount of “things” you have.

Merry Christmas, may there be peace on earth!

T-shirt #357: Charlie Brown (with Christmas tree)

2010-12-23T19:26:00.002-05:00

When I got this one from 6 Dollar Shirts (http://www.6dollarshirts.com/t-shirts, http://6dollarshirts.com/t-shirts/Peanuts-p-11135.html) this summer, I knew today would be the perfect day to wear it. It’s “Eve Eve” afterall! Oh? You’re not familiar with that phrase? Well, let me tell you a little more about some McGrath Christmas traditions…

Back sometimes in the 80s, my brothers and I thought it would be fun to celebrate Christmas by lip-syncing our favorite songs on “Christmas Eve Eve”. Back then that meant Ratt, Poison, Cinderella, Bryan Adams, Twisted Sister, and Motley Crue. My brother Tom and I made guitars with poster paper and a wood neck, careful to draw all six strings and fill the body with cool colors and things like “Eve Eve ‘85”. Older brother Jon was in charge of the audio and lighting. In the earlier years that meant changing cassettes quickly, using flashlights as spotlights, and turning the room lights on and off quickly for a strobe light effect. As technology and our budget increased over the years we graduated to making mix tapes, getting a real strobe light, and using a multi-colored flashlight.

It didn’t take long for everyone to take their seats at the concert venue, which was one of our bedrooms. The capacity crowd was usually just the two McGrath sisters, and a few years our cousins the O’Neills managed to scalp a couple of tickets outside.

Of all the years we did an “Eve Eve” Concert, a few memorable moments come to mind. One was the year Tom was the lead lip-syncer for Twisted Sister’s song “The Price”. Not far into the song, Tom forgot the words and made a quick decision to face away from the crowd for any lyrics that weren’t the chorus. Another year, one of our neighbors (Scott O’?) came over during the show – I think he just needed a cup of sugar. Apparently my father thought we were playing the music way too loud with company over. He opened the door in the middle of a song (Ratt “You’re In Love” is very likely), and told us we had to “Keep it down, we have company!” Yet another time, I had picked up a Stryper tape that had their version of “Winter Wonderland” on it. During the performance, my brother Tom and I threw out candy canes to our adoring fans.

All I can say now is I wished we had pictures and videos of these Eve Eve concerts.

After years of thinking we were “too old” for these concerts, my brother Jon started another pre-Christmas tradition. He and his wife Jen started having people over to watch the Christmas cartoon specials. I believe the first time was right after they got married 15 years ago, back at their apartment. Back then it was a little more casual – come hang out and we’ll watch a few Christmas movies. Since, there have been themes (come dressed in your PJs), trivia contests (these stopped after I kept winning), and door prizes.

Now, in addition to having 3 more McGraths running around, there is a whole voting process for which Christmas specials we watch. My brother Jon hands out paper and pens and collects all of the secret ballots. Each title (or quote or reference) is read and tallied to figure out the winner. Occasionally there is a tie and we must vote again, but with only two special to choose from. And you never know what will win. Two years ago, the He-Man Christmas special won a round. Shrek the Halls has won a couple of times. The Grinch usually gets in every year, while Charlie Brown sometimes gets the shaft. And I don’t think Frosty or Santa Claus is Coming to Town have been viwed in quite a while (There are a few more “adult” things we watch after the kids go to bed like SNL skits or the very homo-suggestive Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank (http://amzn.to/bingfrankxmas) – always a riot).

Which brings me to the other part of Eve Eve: lobbying. Before each vote, anyone can address the room to try and pull for which cartoon they would like to watch next. I’m hoping my get-up will have us all singing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” at some point tonight. This year, there were even emails sent out from “Frosty” to try and build up support for a Frosty viewing this year. Whatever we vote to watch, it’s always a great time!

I must also mention probably the funniest Eve Eve moment. It happened last year while we were playing a round of Holiday Mad Libs. My sister Megan was writing in the words, and it came to my nephew who was thinking of a plural noun. He was thinking and thinking some more. Then someone told him to just say the first thing that came to his mind. He yelled out “Vaginas!” and everyone in the room burst out laughing for about 10 minutes – especially my friend Glen and his wife Krissy who were at their first “Eve Eve” celebration.

December 23^rd is definitely a day and night I look forward to every year. It reminds me of the time when things (like Christmas cartoons or the Wizard of Oz) were only on once a year. You had to plan around it and if you missed it, you had to wait until next year – it was more special that way. Eve Eve is a very special time to me. It’s time I spend with people I love the most and is always a laugh-fest. Looking forward to another great Eve Eve tonight, and many more to come!

And thanks to JB for use of the tree!

T-shirt #356: GRISWOLD FAMILY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-22T20:11:00.003-05:00

Even though A Christmas Story is a classic, Christmas Vacation is my favorite Christmas movie (The Ref comes in second place).

Thanks to my brother Jon and his family for donating this (and many of the others) t-shirt to the blog!

Like A Christmas Story, it is hard to narrow down Christmas Vaction to my favorite parts. I wanted to include the Clark Griswold “flipout” scene, but I guess there are copyright issues with having the audio online. Every clip I found of it had no sound. Here’s the quote:

“Hey! If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?” –Clark Griswold

Below are a few other great moments from the movie – another one I highly recommend seeing Christmas Vacation if you haven’t yet.

Although the McGraths never had a SWAT team come busting into the house during the holidays, we have had our share of Griswold-like moments over the years. We did have adventures picking out our yearly family Christmas tree –but my father never got caught underneath a truck as we drove there. I did “help” my dad cut the tree down the year my younger sister Megan was born. Yes, I was not even six at the time, but I definitely held the tree as my dad cut it down.

Most of the drama during the holidays in out house usually revolved around taking the yearly Christmas card picture. This was the during the pre-digital age, so we had to deal with two things: One, the limited number of film rolls my dad had. Two, that we didn’t see what the pictures looked like until after they had been sent in for developing (1 hour photos existed, but were much more of a luxury back then). That, and there were also 5 kids who all had to have something resembling a genuine smile on his/her face at the same instant. Each year, there was usually one of us who stormed out of the room upset over something (I’m betting if we could look back at the footage I would lead the McGrath League in Christmas Photo Walk-Outs). But, we did get the picture done every year – even if my father had to resort to desperate measures like the one year he mooned us. What can I say, it worked!

The McGraths did have almost an exact replay of a Griswold family moment, although it was from the original Vacation movie. We planned a trip to Williamsburg, VA and the highlight I was looking forward to the most was checking out Busch Gardens. But when we got there, we found out the park was closed. Luckily, my father didn’t go out and buy a BB gun to force a park employee to take us on the rides. We opted for attraction number 2, Colonial Williamsburg, and had a really good time (but those roller coasters would have been sweet, I’m sure!).

We did have and have our own Christmas traditions , but I will write more about those tomorrow…

“We're gonna have the hap hap happiest christmas since Bing Crosby tapdanced with Danny fucking Kaye!” – Clark Griswold

For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958

And The Ref on imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955

T-shirt #355: I SHOT MY EYE OUT! (A Christmas Story, Ralphie)

2010-12-21T21:30:00.005-05:00

No doubt about it. As far as Christmas movies go, A Christmas story (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334) is a classic. There are so many funny scenes and funny lines; this blog simply can’t cover them all. If you haven’t seen it, take the time – it’s worth it. And don’t wait until the TBS 24-hour marathon; it’s much better if you watch it from start to finish.

After some IMDBing, I found out some things I didn’t know about Peter Billingsley, who played the lead role of Ralphie (from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0082526)

He appeared in episodes of Little House on the Prairie, Who’s the Boss, Highway to Heaven, Punky Brewster, and The Wonder Years (which always reminds me of A Christmas Story)
He was Co-Producer for the movies Made and Zathura: A Space Adventure
He was Executive Producer for the movies The Break-Up, Iron Man, and Four Christmases
He directed the movie Couples Retreat

The one thing I did know about him was that he was “Messy Marvin” from the Hershey’s Syrup commercials:

I also found a story about a Christmas Story Reunion:

I never wanted a BB gun for Christmas. For me, as a budding Star Wars dork, the Holy Grail of Christmas presents was the Death Star Playset. Then one year, I got it. Although it didn’t shoot my eye out, you can see my disappointment after my attempts to show my Death Star to my brother Jon fall short.

About ten years ago we were watching all the movies my father took of all the McGrath kids every Christmas morning. My sister Carolyn noticed all the Star Wars presents I got when I was a kid and said, “It’s 20 years later Dave, and you’re still getting the same things for Christmas!” Correction Ca, it’s now 30 years…

Looking forward to another awesome, laugh-filled Christmas with my family!

Oh, and I had to include at least one clip from the movie…

T-shirt #354: Smile if you love someone with Crohn's Disease

2010-12-20T22:54:00.003-05:00

It was 22 years ago today (you can see on the page I opened to in my medical record binder). I was having pain on my right side that was so intense I couldn’t stand up straight. I had been having symptoms for a while, but at 14, I guess I didn’t want anyone to think I was a “wimp”. After one doctor visit, I was still lying down and not able to eat much. My neighbor, Dr. Thomas (a.k.a. Dr. Bob), came up for a much needed 2^nd opinion. After examining me, he thought my appendix was about to burst and said I should go to the ER that night. So, on December 20, 1988, my parents took me to the emergency room at UMass…

My side seemed to hurt more with each bump we went over on the ride to the hospital. Thanks to Dr. Bob’s assurance that the surgery was a “routine one”, I wasn’t scared. I really just wanted the pain to stop. I toughed it out for the Westboro to Worcester trek, and we made it to UMass.

The last thing I remember was the nurse putting something into my IV and asking if that’s what was going to make me go to sleep. It did, but what was supposed to be a 45-minute appendectomy turned out to be a lot more. In the middle of the surgery the doctors let my parents know it wasn’t my appendix, and would end up working on me for over 4 hours. The surgeons found holes in my bowels and removed 1 ½ feet of my small and large intestines. Although I wouldn’t get an official diagnosis until after I woke up, they had discovered my Crohn’s Disease.

I remember waking up after my surgery and seeing my parents who had been waiting for me. I couldn’t talk because there was a tube down my throat, but I successfully mimed to my mother for her to put the head of my bed up. Later, a priest from St. Luke’s arrived to see how I was doing. I immediately grabbed my religious medals (which had been taped to my wrists), and he performed the anointing of the sick on me.

My parents finally got to go home and let the rest of the family know what was going on (this was long before cell phones). When my mother told my sister Carolyn what was going on, her choice of words put some fear into my sister. She told her “Dave’s probably not going to make it home for Christmas”, but Carolyn was holding her breath after hearing “Dave’s not going to make it…”.

I don’t remember much of the next day. I was in the intensive care unit and remember seeing the Bruins game out of the corner of my eye at one point (they beat the Whalers 4-3: http://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/3/schedule/reg1989). Yes, I was too out of it to even watch hockey!

When I was ready for company, my whole family came to visit me and surrounded me with love and humor. I remember the stitches from my surgery hurting a lot when my brother Jon made me laugh – he made some joke about the doctors taking out my intestines and wondering how many farts had passed through them. I whispered to my mom about the kid across from me who was always whining about how much pain he was in. She looked at him and said, “Well he must not be a “Bruin” like you are…”. My younger sister Megan was concerned about what Santa was going to do on Christmas Eve – would he bring my presents to the hospital or the house? My aunt and uncle also stopped by to say hello, and left me a copy of Hoosiers to watch (Although I didn’t realize it at the time, it was the first of many times I would use movie viewing as a way to help myself through a sickness).

I wasn’t too excited to be in the hospital on Christmas, but having my family there helped a lot. They brought all the presents Santa had left for me, which made me temporarily forget where I was. My brother Tom gave me a Ray Bourque rookie card, which I have cherished to this day. My brother Jon gave me a copy of Guns N’ Roses GNR Lies and told me to make sure I didn’t “leave it around for anyone to look at” (there were very explicit pictures and words inside). The presents were great, but being with my parents and siblings is what really made that Christmas as normal as it could be. And if my brother Jon promising he’d take me to see the Naked Gun movie as soon as I got out didn’t help speed up my healing, nothing would!

After 10 days of the doctors telling me Crohn’s was all about, being taken care of and appreciating nurses, and visits from my family and friends, I went home on New Year’s Eve. Our dog Murphy was so excited to see me, he ran right past me as I walked inside. I don’t even think I made it to midnight, but I didn’t care. I was home and I was okay. I wasn’t worried about having Crohn’s or thinking of what might happen to me health wise in the future. I was just happy.

Since that first hospitalization and diagnosis, I have dealt with the ups and downs of Crohn’s Disease. I have had good days and bad days. I have been on various medications with some working better than others (the initial Folic Acid and Sulfasalazine didn’t seem to make much of a difference). I became more aware of the prevalence of Crohn’s including the following year, when my father had NHLer and Crohnser Kevin Dineen sign a picture for me and wish me “healthy holidays”. I learned which foods sometimes made me “Crohnsy” and tried to avoid them or just took a chance and dealt with the consequences. I got used to doctors sticking their fingers in places that weren’t too enjoyable. I ran into people who were understanding and others that had no clue…

One person in particular, I could not believe. The year I was teaching in the public school system (I won’t mention the town, but it rhymes with “Shopkinton”), I started having some really bad Crohn’s symptoms. I was in a lot of pain, and knew I needed to see my doctor. After examining me, he ordered a GI scan (the fun one where you drink Barium) and told me what he thought was happening. He said the area where my surgery had connected my small and larger intestines was most likely scarring up and causing my bowels to back up. The test would show exactly how bad it was, and would let him know if I needed more surgery. When I relayed this to the principal of my school, she said “I’ve never heard of anyone needing surgery for Crohn’s…”. I said nothing to her then, but now I say I hope you’ve gotten an f’n clue.

Yes, some days are worse than others when it comes to Crohn’s. Stress doesn’t help and neither does Mexican food (but it’s so tasty!). I have cut down a lot on the caffeine intake and “just said no” to most vegetables – especially the green leafy ones! Some days are “many trips to the bathroom” days and some are “can’t get out of bed” days. I just take it day by day and remind myself that I am on the lucky side with this disease. There are many people who have Crohn’s that are in and out of the hospital all the time. Since my first hospitalization, I have only had to stay in the hospital one other time for my Crohn’s. That was in April of 2008 when I was having similar (but worse) symptoms to the whole “non-sympathetic principal fiasco”. That time after the doctor explained all the possibilities to me (including possible surgery) he asked me if I had any questions – I asked him if I was going to be able to watch the Bruins game that night. I was in the hospital less than a week, and didn’t need ay more surgery. Crohn’s does suck, but I have been very fortunate with how little it has affected my life.

When life gives you a chronic disease like Crohn’s, you have a choice. You can sit there and complain, moan, whine, and spread the misery it is causing you. Or you can take it in stride, get through the bad days, keep your humor, and remind yourself of the positives. I may have Crohn’s, but Crohn’s doesn’t have me. What I do have is an amazing support system made up of my awesome family and wonderful friends. And thanks to that Christmas in 1988, I know what really counts during the holidays…

PS- I got this shirt on Zazzle!

And My other Crohn’s shirt - http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-235-it-passes-here-with-song.html

T-shirt #353: EAT SLEEP HOCKEY - NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

2010-12-19T21:07:00.002-05:00

Well, there are a couple more things that matter. But hockey is definitely towards the top of my list.

This is the 27^th hockey-related t-shirt I have worn this year (see links below).

Thanks to my wonderful mom for donating this one (and many of the other 26 hockey t’s)!

So with all of these hockey t-shirts, I guess I should back it up with some words of support for hockey.

Here are my top ten reasons why hockey is the best sport on earth:

You have to be highly skilled as a skater to even think about playing it.
Every goal is huge – it could be a 1-0 game or a 6-5 game.
If you’re good enough and/or fast enough, you can play at the NHL level and be only 5’5” (see Nate Gerbe, Brian Gionta).
If someone on the other team is being an asshole you can fight them, take a 5 minute break, and return to the game.
It has the best trophy – The Stanley Cup has all the players’ names that have ever won it, and the players who win each get it for a day.
The sportsmanship – After every playoff series, the two teams line up and shake hands (and they mean it).
Powerplays and penalty shots
Sudden Death Overtime in the Playoffs – It’s better than any MLB, NBA, or NFL overtime playoff game and 99% of the time there’s no bad call, missed foul, or coin flip that affects the outcome.
Toughness – Hockey players are the toughest professional athletes out there, period (I guess you could argue pro fighters/boxers are tougher, but they are fighting, it’s not a game).
Can you imagine trying to get a group of people together at 9AM on Thanksgiving morning to play any other sport? We’re playing on Christmas Eve morning, too!

So, yeah, I love hockey. I love playing it, watching it, going to it, and video gaming it!

Here are my favorite hockey sites:

http://www.nhl.com

http://www.uscho.com

http://bruins.nhl.com

http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/bc-m-hockey-body.html

http://www.sharksahl.com

http://www.hockeyfights.com

Hockey Fights Cancer: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=25343

And my hockey t’s:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/intro-and-t-shirt-1.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/shirt-4-rangers-suck.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-8-boston-college-superfan.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-32-boston-college-old-time.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-37-jesus-saves.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-42-holy-cross-hockey.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-61-canadiens-suck.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-95-hockey-fights-cancer.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-107-bruins-hockey.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-109-canada-is-hockey.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-111-bruins-michael-ryder.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-130-rock-em-stock-em-crew.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-161-i-bleed-black-gold.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/07/t-shirt-199-worcester-sharks.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-217-wisconsin-hockey.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-220-boston-college-national.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-249-new-jersey-devils-1995.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-278-ft-wausau-hockey.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-282-born-into-it-boston-bruins.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-294-boston-bruins-i-believe.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-313-hockey-east-20th.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-325-wanna-go-worcester-sharks.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/12/t-shirt-338-boston-bruins-phil-kessel.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/12/t-shirt-341-mcquaid-fight-club.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/12/t-shirt-350-canadiens-suck.html

T-shirt #352: BOOBS ON A MISSON

2010-12-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

When I saw a picture of my friend Kris wearing this t-shirt, I knew I had to have it for the blog. Thanks for getting me one, Kris!

Kris was part of the “Boobs on a Mission” team that participated in an event to benefit the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.

(From the website http://support.gloriagemma.org): The Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation was established in 2004 in memory of our mom and in honor of her courageous fight against breast cancer. Our mission is to raise breast cancer awareness, increase breast health education, and generate funding for critical breast health programs that are in desperate need of being brought to fruition. Our promise is that 100% of the net proceeds will remain right here in our local community. We recognize breast self examination as a critical tool in the fight against breast cancer. We also recognize all of the breast health care providers as essential partners in the war against this disease.

Ironically, our quest to help other women and men cope with this disease would force us down a road too often traveled. Not only did our mom Gloria suffer from breast cancer, but our sister Gloria was recently diagnosed with this horrific disease. At the young age of 41, our sister was faced with enduring this disease…again. Because of our proactive approach to breast self exam and early detection, our sister was fortunate to have found her cancer early. Her courage and determination have prevailed.

Chances are you are visiting our site because you or someone you know has been affected by breast cancer. You’ve come to the right place! The simple facts are that one in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and one woman dies from this disease every 13 minutes in the U.S. Did you know that men can get breast cancer too? Over 2,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and over 450 will die from this disease.

For more information:

http://support.gloriagemma.org

T-shirt #351: Tragic Comic

2010-12-17T12:32:00.004-05:00

I made this shirt specifically for today because I knew I was going to be hanging out with my awesome friend Carl later…

Carl and I didn’t meet until our senior year of college. As fate would have it, we were taking the same psychology practicum and ended up sitting near each other. We hit it off so well that sometime in October one of our classmates asked us how long we had been roommates. That was (ugh) 15 years ago, and I’ve been very lucky to have Carl in my life ever since…

Carl and I share similar tastes in many things. We like the same sports teams, love many of the same TV shows and movies, and (as I’ve mentioned before) enjoy the “occasional” round of video game hockey. Our musical tastes overlap quite a bit, but when it comes to Extreme and Queensryche, it usually just ends up with circular arguments about who has the better guitar player (answer: Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme) or who has sold more albums (answer: Queensryche, but using that argument the Bee Gees are better than both Queensryche and Extreme). We just agree to disagree, and we have fun doing it (And yes, Carl has a Queensryche tattoo and I have a Tragic Comic tattoo).

The one thing Carl and I do the most together is laugh. We make fun of each other, trash talk during video games, and bring up funny and/or embarrassing moments from our past. When one of us is down, the other one brings him up. Even when Carl is helping me with legal issues (which he has done on numerous occasions including a landlord that tried to screw me over), we laugh our way through it. And yeah, sometimes it’s just me laughing at myself and Carl asking “What’s wrong with you?”, but I’m okay with that.

I am very lucky to have him as a friend and am looking forward to more good times tonight…

So, onto “Tragic Comic”: Extreme’s third album III Sides to Every Story came out just as I was finishing my last hospital stay for cancer. I remember my older brother letting me borrow his CD and Discman so I could have a listen as the last of my cancer-related IVs was stuck in my arm. After I returned to BC, there were two albums I began listening to just about every day: III Sides and Denis Leary’s No Cure for Cancer. There must be something about being that age and going through what I did, but these became two of my favorite albums of all time. As my freshman year went on and I was introduced to alcohol and more BC females, “Tragic Comic” became my favorite song on III Sides. I not only related to the song lyrics, but I identified strongly with the title itself. And even though my drinking didn’t always bring out my “comic” side, I still did my share of laughing.

Since that freshman year, Tragic Comic has become more than just a song to me. It is in my email address, the title to my first book of poetry (http://amzn.to/poemsfromatragiccomic), and is now permanently part of my arm. It really is part of my philosophy. Laughing got me through cancer, it gets me through Crohn’s, and it is what helps every guest at Hope Lodge. If you don’t have humor, I don’t know how you handle any of life’s challenges. I am re-reading Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning) right now, and even he and the other concentration camp prisoners had humor in their lives (If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend checking it out – it will give you perspective on what true suffering is and how thankful you should be even when life throws you crap). I’m not sure if this is what Extreme meant by Tragic Comic, but I am one and to me it means trying to laugh no matter what. Luckily for me, my family and friends (like Carl) make laughing a very easy thing to do…

"Tragic Comic"

Flowers, I sent,

were found dead on their arrival

The words, I said,

inserted foot in my mouthful

So when, we dance,

My lead it ain't so graceful

(Isn't so, not ain't so)

I'M A HAPLESS ROMANTIC

ST-T-TUTTERING P-POET

JUST CALL ME A TRAGIC COMIC

CAUSE I'M, IN, IN LOVE WITH YOU

And when, we dine,

I forget to push in your seat

I wear, the wine,

spilling hearts all over my sleeve

A stitch, in time,

proposing down on my knees

(Splitting between the seams)

I'M A HAPLESS ROMANTIC

ST-T-TUTTERING P-POET

JUST CALL ME A TRAGIC COMIC

CAUSE I'M, IN, IN LOVE WITH YOU

Nobody, can know the,

trouble I've, seen

Nobody, can know the,

trouble I, get into,

when I'm with you

T-shirt #350: CANADIENS SUCK

2010-12-16T21:10:00.005-05:00

I have worn 289 t-shirts since this one: http://bit.ly/habssucktshirt, and I still think the Canadiens suck! I wore this one (which I bought outside the Fleet Center years ago) today because my beloved B's are playing the "Hated Habs" tonight...

And very much like the Yankees sucking (http://bit.ly/yankssuck1, http://bit.ly/yankssuck2), it doesn’t matter what place the Canadiens are in – they suck.

I am a huge fan of their captain, BC grad Brian Gionta, but they still suck.

They just scored on a penalty shot, but they suck.

They just went up 2-0, and they still suck.

They have only 8 fighting majors this season…‘nough said.

Where does all of this anti-Hab sentiment come from? Well, like this PSA claims about drugs, “Parents who hate the Canadiens have children who hate the Canadiens…”

The best thing about the B’s/Habs rivalry is that (no matter what they say), the players seem to be into it just as much as the fans:

Hoping the B’s can comeback tonight…

PS- CANADIENS SUCK!

T-shirt #349: There is no love in the heart of a city...ever

2010-12-15T21:58:00.001-05:00

This shirt is another one donated by Letter From John (http://www.letterfromjohn.com), which takes graffiti from bathrooms and prints it on t-shirts…Thanks, John!

Although the t-shirt suggests pessimism, I have found evidence of a city that has love in it…

Worcester, MA is the second largest city in New England.

As I wrote for my Worcester, MA t-shirt (http://bit.ly/woostahtshirt), there are a lot of helpful people and businesses in Worcester who enjoy giving back by helping Hope Lodge. Since I wrote that, Hope Lodge has also received a donation from Table Talk Pies (http://www.tabletalkpie.com/home.htm) - and all I had to do was email and ask!

With this t-shirt blog, the Worcester media has helped reassure me that what I am doing does matter. Channel 3 did a story about it (http://bit.ly/blogontv) and there is going to be an article about my blog in the Towns section of the Worcester Telegram (http://www.telegram.com) tomorrow, December 16^th. Thanks again to these organizations for helping me out!

Even with all the awesome help Hope Lodge has received from people and places in Worcester, the real love I see is at the Lodge itself. Most of the guests come here with spouses, siblings, relatives, or great friends. It’s easy to see how much these people care for each other and how having someone with them helps the guests with their healing process. But, even guests who stay at Hope Lodge by themselves stay here surrounded by people that care about them...

One of the most valuable aspects of Hope Lodge is that cancer patients get to live with other cancer patients. Their diagnoses, treatments, and histories may differ, but they all share that cancer bond – and it’s a powerful bond. No matter where they are from, what they have been through, or what they are going through, Hope Lodge guests are all pulling for each other. Yes, I have witnessed disagreements between guests over the years, but that is expected in every living situation. For the most part the guests live, laugh, and love during one of the most difficult times of their lives (for a story a wrote about a guest, go to: http://bit.ly/hlguest).

There is love in Worcester, and my job at Hope Lodge lets me witness it every night. Thank you to everyone who supports Hope Lodge and everyone who supports this blog!

For this shirt, go to: http://bit.ly/loveincityshirt and see the original graffiti here: http://bit.ly/lovecitygraf

For more about Worcester and famous people who are from or lived in Worcester:

http://www.worcesterma.gov

http://bit.ly/worcelebs

http://www.worcestermass.com/famous.shtml

T-shirt #348: VOTE BILL BRASSKY IN 08

2010-12-14T19:15:00.003-05:00

My awesome friend Ian made this t-shirt for me a couple of years ago…

I see so much of myself in Ian, it’s kinda scary.

As far as disease, tough times, and getting screwed over by people, Ian and I could go round for round on who has been through the most.

But, we were there for each other when times were tough. We supported each other, talked to each other, and just hung out with each other. And more importantly, we never forgot how to laugh with each other…

We watched Outside Providence, Grandma’s Boy, and Eddie Murphy stand-up until we were quoting just about every line (guys do this a lot, in case you didn’t know).

And, we watched a lot of Saturday Night Live….a lot.

I think our most quoted skits were from Chris Farley, Alec Baldwin (especially Zinger vs. Burns: http://snltranscripts.jt.org/03/03fzing.phtml), and Adam Sandler.

One of Ian’s favorite skits was Bill Brasky. I won’t tell you what it is, you can see for yourself. Enjoy!

For more on Bill Brasky:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brasky

http://www.psychonoble.com/subpages/quotes.html

Thanks for the shirt, dude. I miss ya and I love ya!

PS- According to the web, it’s Brasky not Brassky, but I still love this shirt!

T-shirt #347: One Ball, Two Strikes - The Inaugural Greg Montalbano Golf Classic

2010-12-13T21:49:00.005-05:00

When I was shuffling through old keepsakes to find things to include in my blog about my sister Megan for her birthday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DudtXbvIDWg), I found this card Greg sent me when I was sick with cancer. I started crying, but I also laughed…

The crying part was something that I am familiar with. I don’t know and can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a sibling, cousin, son, fiancé, or best friend. But I do know how it feels to lose someone you know who was fighting the same battle that you fought. For me, it’s a mixture of loss, asking unanswerable questions, and wishing there was more I could be doing. I am a cancer survivor, and announce that fact proudly whenever it’s appropriate. But when I am reminded of those who have lost their battles, I begin asking why I am still here. I start getting flashes of “Survivor’s Guilt”.

My junior year of college, two people I knew lost their battles with cancer. One was Danny, who I knew from high school. He was just a couple of days away from going home after his bone marrow transplant, but caught something before his body was ready to fight any more. The other was a 13-year old named Justin who I had met while I was in treatment. He was only ten at the time, and was one of the bravest people I have ever met. We requested to share a hospital room when we were getting treatment at the same time, and watched the Sox games with passion. Justin asked his mother to call me so we could hang out towards the end, but I was in the hospital having my stomach pumped and on my way to rehab. Although the guilt of not being there for Justin is something that I don’t think will ever go away, I know his passing is something that gave me the strength to never drink again.

When Greg was diagnosed, I began wondering if there was something wrong with the water at St. John’s (3 SJ students within 3 years of each other diagnosed with cancer?). I sent him a card to let him know I was there if he needed support even though I knew (like me) he was already surrounded by a very loving family and close friends. I was reminded of Danny and Justin throughout Greg’s up and down battle with this horrible disease. There were already two people I knew who were no longer with us, I did not want a third. Plus, I already knew Greg’s family and had grown up with his cousin Mike. He had to make it through, I thought…

In 2004, my friend Matt lost his close friend Casey to cancer (see: http://caseymemories.blogspot.com/). When I got my flashes of guilt, there was now another person I thought about. Again, I thought of Greg and was glad when I heard news of him doing well and striking out a lot of batters. He had hit some bumps (small and large) in the road since his diagnosis, but I still was confident he was going to be okay.

When I heard the news last year that things were going poorly for Greg, I didn’t want to believe it. I kept thinking something will happen, and he’ll be okay. Even when he passed, I didn’t want to believe it. I got sad, mad, and guiltier. When I told my friend Matt that Greg was my “go to person” whenever I felt guilty about surviving, he told me that I was the person he thought about when Casey entered his mind. It helped, but I still wanted Greg to be here…

I don’t know if many cancer survivors have the same feelings, but I do feel I owe it to those who have passed to make something special of my life. And not just “You work with cancer patients, that’s great” special, I feel a need to make my time on earth really count. For Danny, for Justin, for Casey, for Greg, and since Greg’s passing for my friend Aimee’s mom Linda. Danny, Justin, Casey, Greg, Linda, and the several Hope Lodge guests who have passed away since I started here 3 years ago. I think of them every day, and I ask them for help. I tell them that I am trying my best to make my life extraordinary, and I need their strength to guide me. And I know they are somewhere watching over all of us…

Okay, that was enough serious stuff. I did mention that this card made me laugh. It made me think of Greg and all that guilty crap I just described. But then I looked at the card and all the birds and the message inside and I chuckled. It just didn’t seem like a card that a freshman in high school would pick out (maybe I’m wrong?). I thought of Greg and what he’d be thinking of this card today, and smiled. And it made me think of all the cards I got when I was sick. The pictures on the front and the words already in the card aren’t nearly as important as the signature you read. I got this card from Greg. It meant a lot to me then, and it’s really damn special to me now. Greg, it’s been over a year since you left us, but your card from 18 years ago made me laugh. You are a constant source of inspiration, and you will always be part of my life.

Speaking of inspiration, this t-shirt (donated by my awesome Aunt a.k.a. Auntie) was part of the first Greg Montalbano Golf Classic – an event that is a testament to how much Greg’s life meant. For more information, you can go to: http://www.1ball2strikes.org/index.html

And for my other Greg-related t-shirts:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-135-st-johns-alumni-baseball.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-163-saint-johns-alumni-golf.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-236-montalbano-31-st-johns.html

Greg’s Globe obituary:

http://bit.ly/gregobit

Greg on Baseball Reference site:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Greg_Montalbano

My poem for the guys…

Danny, Justin, and Greg

I struggle to sleep every night

Under a blanket woven with

Kindred cancer threads,

Will I ever find reasons

For all this malignancy?

The weight of four lives

Is concentrated chemo in this

Survivor’s guilt quilt,

I owe it to them to show

Why I’m the one still here.

How long will I have to

Listen to this Aerosmith song,

I’ll keep hitting repeat until

I can no longer move my arm.

Danny, Justin, and Greg,

Every story,

Every line is dedicated

To you,

My hospital brothers.

Please help me

Bring this sick world

Closer to a cure…

T-shirt #346: SUN MULTISPORT EVENTS 2010 Event Staff

2010-12-12T19:24:00.002-05:00

I got this shirt on August 15^th this year when I volunteered at a triathlon in Westboro. Well, my dad asked me to “help out”, and I gladly did! Although I mostly wore another t-shirt that day (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-227-i-think-we-should-start.html), I did wear this one over it for a few hours.

The most interesting thing about the event (http://www.sunmultisportevents.com/Westborough_Sprint.htm) to me was the fact that every athlete had to have their age written on their body. I have never seen so many women publicly admitting their exactly how old they were!

My responsibility was to point athletes in the right direction coming to and leaving the bicycle area. I can proudly say that none of the triathletes incorrectly exited the bike area during the entire event. And I will give credit to Sun Multisport Events (http://www.sunmultisportevents.com); as they left, many of the athletes said they were impressed with the way the race was organized.

It was a fun day, and day I got a free t-shirt!

T-shirt #345: iPood

2010-12-11T17:54:00.002-05:00

This hilarious t-shirt was sent to me from my awesome sister Megan (along with a book she got me a while back!). It’s Meg’s birthday today, so rather than write about my “poo issues” (that’s for another blog), I thought I’d try something different and go with a little iMovie blog. Hope you enjoy it Meg, and it doesn’t embarrass you too much! We are all very lucky to have you in our lives! Love you and Happy Birthday!

T-shirt #344: WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

2010-12-10T16:58:00.002-05:00

This t-shirt is yet another “weekend t” donated from Foul Mouth Shirts (http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/funny-t-shirts, http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/New-Shirts/WHAT-The-Fuck-Are-You-Looking-At-T-shirt.htm). Thanks, Foul Mouth!

So, what are you looking at?

You’re looking at a guy who has worn 344 different t-shirts this year, who couldn’t have done it by himself, and who is thankful for everyone who helped him.

You’re looking at a guy who loves his family, and can’t imagine where he would be without them.

You’re looking at someone who is worried about his “Little Brother” because he was just put into the care of the state.

You’re looking at someone who loves his job at Hope Lodge and wants to do whatever he can to help it.

You’re looking at a guy who loves hockey – Go B’s and Go BC!

You’re looking at someone who lives with Crohn’s, beat cancer, and has had 2 kidney stones.

You’re looking at a guy who really wants to get paid to wear t-shirts next year.

You’re looking at someone who thinks it will be cool to see Star Wars in 3D, but thinks George Lucas should donate all the profits of the 3D release to charity.

You’re looking at a guy who doesn’t give a fuck if you swear around him.

You’re looking at a guy who is hoping he gets to Ireland sooner rather than later.

You’re looking at someone who still isn’t a fan of “W” and thinks if you make more than $250,000 and are worried about taxes, you should take a pay cut so you make “only” $249,000.

You’re looking at a guy who doesn’t care about your religion, race, nationality, sexuality, or gender – just how you treat other people.

You’re looking at someone who hasn’t had a drink since May 7, 1995.

You’re looking at someone who admires Denis Leary, Cam Neely, Jon Stewart, Eddie Vedder, Oprah Winfrey, and Howard Stern.

You’re looking at a guy who will never get tired of playing with toys.

You’re looking at someone who can take just about any situation or story and relate it to a moment or quote from Star Wars, The Simpsons, or Family Guy.

You’re looking at a guy who doesn’t mind that it’s getting cold and thinks you can only complain about one extreme in temperature.

You’re looking at someone who thinks no one in the world (let alone US) should be without food, shelter, and health care.

You’re looking at a guy who isn’t sure what he’s going to write about next year…

(Feel free to comment on what in the f- you think you’re looking at!)

T-shirt #343: the office

2010-12-09T20:09:00.002-05:00

Thank you to my friend Christi for sending me this t-shirt! If you don’t know why I wore it today, you must not be very familiar with the Thursday night TV lineup (good for you!).

When I mention The Office to people, most of them say they either love it or hate it. Much like Seinfeld, there doesn’t seem to be much in between. And, as with Seinfeld, I think it comes down to the characters. If you love the characters on The Office, you love the show. You don’t care what kind of predicaments they get into; you enjoy watching them no matter what the situation. I have to say my favorite character is Michael, although Pam is a close second (partly due to the fact that Jenna Fischer is one of my celebrity crushes). I’m sure if you watch The Office you have your own favorites, but I’m also betting no matter who they are you laugh a lot every Thursday night from 9:00-9:30.

If you have never watched The Office, you should definitely check out Season 1 sometime (and keep in mind there is also a British version you can watch too!).

Fore more info:

http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676/

Episode Guide: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386676/episodes

Original show US Office is based on: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290978/

Here’s some Office for you!

T-shirt #342: John Lennon

2010-12-08T22:35:00.003-05:00

I was only 6, but I remember. It was the morning after Mark Chapman had shot John Lennon, and my mom as really, really sad. She was the reason I already knew all the words to many Beatles songs, and why I was one of only two in my first grade class who knew who John Lennon was. It was Todd D. and I, and we were trying to explain to our classmates who The Beatles were and why it was a sad day for a lot of people.

I’m glad when it happened I was too young to realize how tragic Lennon’s murder was. Although some might argue that Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder aren’t as important/influential/talented as The Beatles and John Lennon, I think the equivalent for me today would be if someone shot Eddie Vedder – something I don’t want to even imagine happening.

I will never understand why it seems that the ones who stand for peace, understanding, and making the world a better place are the ones that people want dead. There was JFK, MLK, and RFK. Even though John Lennon wasn’t a political figure, he stood for many of the same things that all of those men preached. Like I quoted for my John Lennon “Imagine” shirt (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-82-imaginejohn-lennon.html), “Imagine all the people living life in peace…”

Thirty years ago, the world lost one of its best songwriters. John Lennon was a peacemaker, dreamer, and inspirational figure. The world would be a better place if people lived by the words he wrote and his songs in part were inspiration for this blog.

Right now, we are a world at war. We fight over oil, religion, and possessions. We kill over who owns what and who thinks their religion is better. John Lennon was right: all the wars and all the fighting could be over if enough people wanted it (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-170-war-is-over-if-you-want-it.html).

Thank you for all the songs and inspiration, John. I hope wherever you have been for the last 30 years that you have been writing songs, and I get to hear them someday.

Peace.

T-shirt #341: McQUAID FIGHT CLUB

2010-12-07T16:45:00.004-05:00

I’m heading to the Bruins game tonight, so I wanted to make a t-shirt for one of my favorite Bruins players.

Adam McQuaid is a tough, hard-hitting, and hard-working defenseman. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s from PEI, and is one of the nicest hockey players I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

I’m off to the game, will write more later…

For more info on Adam McQuaid:

http://bruins.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8471717

http://www.hockeyfights.com/players/1877

http://bit.ly/mcquaidstime

T-shirt #340: BOSTON PATRIOTS

2010-12-06T20:55:00.002-05:00

Yes, in case you didn’t know, the Patriots (a.k.a. “Pats”) were originally called the Boston Patriots. They didn’t change their name until March of 1971 when they relocated to Foxboro (http://www.patriots.com/history/index.cfm?ac=history).

I know this: Out of all the teams I rooted for growing up, I would have put the Patriots at the bottom of the list if you asked me who would win a championship. As a child of the 80s, I was spoiled with the Celtics and their 3 titles. The Red Sox broke my heart in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995, and 1999. The Bruins teased me in 1988 and especially in 1990. And the Pats, I just remember them mostly sucking.

The Patriots did make the playoffs in 1985 and won their way to their first Superbowl appearance by beating the Miami Dolphins. Although after they “ Squished the Fish” the saying became “Berry the Bears” (for then coach Raymond Berry), the Pats lost to Chicago 46-10 in what was at the time the biggest loss in Superbowl history. Bledsoe and Parcells brought the Pats back to the Superbowl after the 1996 season, but that time they lost to the Packers and Brett FAR-Verah. It was yet another Massachusetts team that got close to winning a title, but fell short.

That all changed in 2001 when I went to my first Patriots game. Although it was only a preseason game, I did get a glimpse into what would turn out to be an amazing season. After Drew Bledsoe played for two series, I watched backups Damon Huard, Michael Bishop, and some guy named Tom Brady play for the rest of the game (http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=210810017). Bledsoe got knocked out of the second game that season, and the rest is Patriots history – the run to the playoffs, the Snow Bowl, beating the trash-talking Steelers (including Bledsoe playing for an injured Brady), and the unbelievable Superbowl win on the last play against St. Louis. The best part of watching them win the Superbowl was I did it at the O’Neill’s with my uncle and cousin who are two of the biggest Pats fans I know.

But, the Patriots weren’t the first of my favorite teams to win it all. In 2001, the Boston College hockey team won a national title. The Pats won the next year, and then things got a little crazy. The Pats won again in 2004, then the Sox won, then the Pats won again. In 2007, the Sox won again (I know!) and the BC football team was ranked #2 at one point. Although the Pats bid for perfection fell one lucky completion short, the BC hockey team won it all again in 2008 (as did the Celtics!).I will never get used to any of my teams winning a championship, but it has been nice to see Belichick and the Pats have so much success over these past 10 seasons.

Okay, game time for the 9-2 Pats and 9-2 Jets. Even though this is a Pats shirt, all that’s left is for me to see a Bruins Stanley Cup Championship. Go Pats, go B’s, go BC, and go Sox!

T-shirt #339: Coke Zero

2010-12-05T20:49:00.002-05:00

My love affair with Coke started really early in life. I was six and went to my first Red Sox game with my father and older brother. Before the game, one of the Fenway employees asked me if I wanted to be the “Coca-Cola Kid” for the day. Because it was my first game, I had no clue what he was talking about and quickly asked my dad for assistance. My father told the guy I would definitely be the “Coca-Cola Kid” for that game, and he told us where to go and when.

So in the middle of the game I went with my dad (we left my 10-year-old brother by himself, which was okay to do back then!) up to the announcer’s booth. They gave me a Coke bottle radio, the “Have a Coke and a smile.” t-shirt pictured, and my picture was put up on the scoreboard. The best part was when they let me flip the switches the Balls, Strikes, and Outs lights on the Green Monster for an inning! I really had no choice after that: I would be a Sox and Coke fan for the rest of my life…

I happily took and picked Coke whenever I was somewhere that the Pepsi Challenge was taking place. I always preferred McDonald’s to Burger King (back before BK changed) in part because they carried Coke products. And when I was a practicing Catholic, I often gave up Coke for Lent (which did lead to a lot of Mountain Dew consumption!). I even started a little Coke bottle collection, which you can see in the video below. I also have (not featured in the video) Coke bed sheets!

After my first kidney stone in 2002, I decided to cut regular soda out of my diet. Even though it took me a while, I did get used to the taste of diet soda. When Coke Zero was introduced in 2005, I was very, very, very happy! So, it was very easy for me to make the following video blog/commercial for Coke Zero. It is part of my application to www.iwearyoushirt.com. If you haven’t seen my application video, you can go here to watch, comment, and share it: http://iwearyourshirt.com/hiring/application/7889/dave-mcgrath

Here is my Coke Zero Christmas Story, I hope you enjoy it!

T-shirt #338: Boston Bruins - Phil Kessel

2010-12-04T18:32:00.005-05:00

I had a little self-debate when it came to wearing this shirt today. On the one hand, I was a big fan of Kessel when he was on the Bruins (hence, the shirt). On the other, I think if he really wanted to stay in Boston he would have. But it is impossible for me to forget about the fact that he is a cancer survivor too. His battle may have been a lot shorter than mine (In the hospital on December 11, 2006, cancer free on December 16, back in Bruins lineup January 9, 2007), but that really does not matter. My battle with this disease was a lot shorter than many, many, many other people. And I wasn’t alone in my battle – I survived cancer along with my family, friends, and every person my mother had praying for me. I’m sure those close to Phil Kessel were just as worried about him as others were worried about me.

I love hockey. I have for a long time, and will for the rest of my life. I will play it until my legs no longer allow me to skate (I’m hoping at least through my 60s). But really when it comes down to it, hockey is just a game (okay, it’s the best game, but a game nonetheless). Cancer on the other hand, is something far more than a game. It affected me and Phil Kessel directly. It also affected Justin, Danny, Greg, Casey, Linda, Diane, Bob, all the Hope Lodge guests, and I’m sure many more people that we all wish didn’t have to go through any of it. This one is for all those people that have battled or are battling cancer, and all of those people battling along with them. And even though he’s playing against my favorite hockey team tonight, this one is also for Phil Kessel…

Stand Up To Cancer (http://www.standup2cancer.org) used that Eddie Vedder song (titled Rise) as part of their campaign…great one, isn’t it?

Oh, and by the way. Interesting thing about this shirt: My awesome mom gave it to me on my birthday (March 31, 2007), which was the same day Phil Kessel was named as a candidate for the Bill Masterson Trophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Masterton_Memorial_Trophy), which he ended up winning that year.

Go B’s!!!

T-shirt #337: Worcester Firefighters Memorial 6K

2010-12-03T17:55:00.004-05:00

11 years ago tonight, 6 brave Worcester Firefighters perished in a fire at a vacant warehouse. The fire was set by two homeless people who knocked over a candle.

According to www.fallen-heroes.com/Fire, this is what happened:

The Worcester Fire Department responded at 6:13 p.m. to Box Alarm 1438.

The Rescue 1 team of Firefighter Paul Brotherton and Firefighter Jerry Lucey entered the building searching for occupants. Fire conditions worsened in the building at an alarmingly unexpected rate. Paul and Jerry, on the fifth floor, became disoriented in the smoke-filled building. Lost, and running low on air, they called for help. Several teams began searching for the lost fire fighters. Two teams reaching the fifth floor also found themselves disoriented in the smoke and trapped by the maze of interior walls — Lieutenant Tom Spencer and Firefighter Tim Jackson from Ladder 2, and Firefighter Jay Lyons and Firefighter Joe McGuirk from Engine 3. Though many more brave fire fighters attempted to locate their missing brothers, their efforts proved futile.

May the “Worcester 6” always be remembered. To read more about each firefighter: http://www.fallen-heroes.com/Heroes/

I am always amazed how something good can come out of a tragedy. Cam Neely lost both of his parents to cancer in a six-month period and started the Neely House (http://www.camneelyfoundation.org/TheNeelyHouse). Denis Leary knew two of the Worcester Firefighters who lost their lives 11 years ago. Jerry Lucey was his cousin, and Tommy Spencer was a childhood friend. Similar to Cam’s reaction to his parents passing, Denis started the Leary Firefighers Foundation (http://www.learyfirefighters.org) in 2000. With a mission to make sure firefighters are using the best equipment possible when they work their dangerous jobs, the foundation has given $10 million to fire departments in Boston, New York, Massachusetts, and New Orleans.

Although my t-shirt blog and efforts to help Hope Lodge are a blip on the screen compared to what Cam and Denis have done, I did have the pleasure of being interviewed today by Charter TV3 in Worcester today! Kenneth Craig (pictured with me) came over to the Lodge earlier to ask me about the blog and what my goals were with all the t-shirts. It was a great experience, and I can’t wait to see it on TV!

Update! Here’s the link: http://www.necn.com/pages/landing?blockID=365996

Thanks Kenneth, and thank you to Hope Lodge volunteer Sam for donating this t-shirt!

T-shirt #336: HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (Football)

2010-12-02T17:47:00.002-05:00

If you told me that one year I would own and wear six different Holy Cross shirts, I might have believed you – when I was eight years old!

Growing up, I rooted for Holy Cross and because of that actually rooted against Boston College (even though BC had Doug Flutie and they would beat HC 65-3).

That all changed the summer between my junior and senior year of college when I went to visit BC with my aunt and cousin. As soon as I stepped into the hockey arena, I knew that’s where I wanted to go to school.

Although my father (Holy Cross ’68) didn’t object to my choice of going to BC, he did wear a purple shirt every time he helped move me in or picked me up. Funny guy, and luckily the kind of guy that can pull off wearing purple. (More on my Dad’s college allegiance here: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-42-holy-cross-hockey.html)

I wore this shirt today because it’s another fun Thursday night with the Holy Cross volunteers. Tonight, we are setting up the holiday decorations! Should be tons o’ fun….

Will write more and post more pics later. In the meantime, here are the rest of my Holy Cross t-shirt blogs:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-35-i-heart-jesuits.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-133-holy-cross-crusaders.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-280-sader-nation-pink-cancer.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-301-holy-cross-hockey-pink-at.html

It was a fun and productive night at the Lodge tonight. The HC volunteers did a wonderful job sorting through, taking out, and putting up all the holiday decorations. And they did an even better job putting up with my wise-ass comments all night! Some of the guests designed their own ornaments, and others helped decorate the Christmas tree. I am thankful to have such a great job every day, but it’s nights like tonight that remind me how much of a blessing it is!

Looking forward to our Hope for the Holidays open house next Wednesday, December 8th from 5-8. All are welcome, let me know if you want more details!

T-shirt #335: Star of David

2010-12-01T21:35:00.003-05:00

Shalom and Happy Hanukkah!

No, I haven’t converted to Judaism. But, I have been to synagogue only two times less than I’ve been to church this year (If you’re keeping score at home, that means I’ve been to church twice this year). Although I know much more about the history, practices, rules, and traditions of Catholicism, I can now say I’m just about as much Catholic as I am Jewish. Like I wrote for my Coexist t-shirt (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-245-coexist.html), I believe in the Golden Rule – which is part of every major religion. If you follow that, it really doesn’t matter what your religion is.

I will admit that when I think of Hanukkah, two things come to mind. The Hanukkah Harry skit from Saturday Night Live, the dreidel song from South Park, and Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song:

Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics
Tags: SOUTH
PARK more...

I do have a story relating to Jewish tradition that I would like to share. I was 13 and in the 7^th grade, and it was my friend Adam’s Bar Mitzvah. The post-ceremony party was like nothing I had ever been to. When I saw some of the presents Adam got (the hand held TV was amazing!), I secretly wondered what my parents would think if I told them I wanted to be Jewish. Like a good friend, Adam had arranged the seating plan so I was sitting next to the girl that I “like-liked” and who “like-liked” me back. We had been on a couple pseudo-dates and had played rounds of spin the bottle, so I thought everything had been going pretty smoothly. Then, in the middle of the celebration, one of her friends came and told me she didn’t like me anymore. My little heart was crushed, and for the first (and definitely not the last) time I wondered if there was anything I could have done differently to avoid the “dumpage”. The rest of the night I had to awkwardly sit next to her, trying to avoid eye contact and not let on that the rejection was bothering me. Ouch. I am happy to report that I now look back on this night and laugh. I really wouldn’t be me if things like this never happened…

I hope everyone that celebrates has a very, very Happy Hanukkah!

Fore more info on Hanukkah:

http://www.history.com/videos/history-of-hanukkah#history-of-hanukkah

http://www.history.com/topics/hanukkah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

T-shirt #334: The Empire Strikes Back - If you only knew the power of the Dark Side

2010-11-30T22:59:00.003-05:00

I know. You’re jealous of my original Vader figure, complete with the cape and lightsaber.

With the recent passing of Irvin Kershner (http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-irvin-kershner-20101130,0,1523496.story), I was glad I had an Empire Strikes Back t-shirt left to wear.

Even though Empire wasn’t my favorite Star Wars movie when I was young, it has made its way to the top of my list. I think that’s because when I was 6 I liked happy endings; I wanted the good guys to win. Instead, the first thing I saw was the words “It is a dark tie for the rebellion.” And, I got to see the main good guy get his hand sliced off and find out the second-in-command bad guy is his father. I was left wondering what would happen to Han Solo as Boba Fett took his frozen body away. I remember thinking that Vader must have been lying to Luke, there’s NO WAY he’s his father (My nephew had a similar reaction when I told him, a story you can read here: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-14-star-wars-kids-drawings.html). I did really like Yoda though (how could you not?).

Now, I love Empire because the bad guys win. I love seeing Darth Vader at his worst, choking admiral after admiral. I never get tired watching the tension between Han and Leia. I love the AT-ATs (in case you don’t know: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Armored_Transport). Yoda still rocks. Bounty hunters are badass. And the final scene between Luke and Vader, well, I put it on a t-shirt.

(Yes, this is one of my own design. Well, I used the pictures and sayings that are listed at http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/category.xml?topcatID=1300264;category_id=1301512, but I created this one.)

Even though it has been 30 years since its release (wow), The Empire Strikes Back remains among the best sequels ever made (It’s the best in my opinion, but I can see how others might argue for The Two Towers, Godfather II, The Dark Knight, or Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo). It is also the US #12 top grossing movie of all time when you adjust for inflation (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm). I guess what I’m saying is I’m not alone in thinking it’s a damn great movie.

If you are one of those people I run into that says “Nope, I’ve never seen any of them” when Star Wars comes into the conversation (it tends to around me), I hope someday you at least watch Episodes IV (a.k.a Star Wars: A New Hope or Star Wars the original or Star Wars, the first one that was released) and V (The Empire Strikes Back). Then at the very least you can tell if someone’s Yoda impersonation is crap!

Even though it was last week, I like to remind myself what I am thankful for every day. Today, I am thankful for Irvin Kersher. He was a huge part of a movie that has been a big part of my life. I hope to be part of a movie someday and although I know it won’t be as good as Empire, you can bet there will be Empire quotes and references in it (see also: Kevin Smith). Thanks Irvin, the Force will be with you. I am off to star setting up my Star Wars Christmas tree with the Hoth scene below it…

For more on Irvin Kershner:

Career: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0449984

Irvin Kersher – Remembering The Empire Strikes Back: http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/insideronline/11/indexp2.html

For more on The Empire Strikes Back: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_V:_The_Empire_Strikes_Back

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684

For my other Star Wars shirts (still one more to come!):

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-7-dont-close-blast-doorsto-your.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-30-family-guy-something.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-44-ig88-and-boba-fett.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-68-vader-was-framed.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-96-mysterious-symbol.html

Donated this one to my Little Brother: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-102-star-wars-revenge-of-sith.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-108-family-guy-star-wars.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-114-jedi-training-academy.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-141-empire-strikes-back.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-171-whos-your-daddy-darth-vader.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/07/t-shirt-number-202-darth-tater.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-302-chewbacca-costume.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-323-admiral-ackbar-its-trap.html

Wow, that’s a lotta Star Wars shirts!

T-shirt #333: UPEI - University of Prince Edward Island

2010-11-29T19:53:00.002-05:00

When I think of PEI, there are a lot of things that come to mind.

For most of the summers I have been alive, I have taken a trip up to The Island from Massachusetts (I know, I’m lucky). When I was a child, that meant traveling over 650 miles in a van with 6 other people. These trips usually went something like this:

Night before:

Family outing to Burger King for dinner
Mom panicking that trip preparation isn’t complete
5 restless kids getting excited for journey
Parents attempting to calm children down
More panicking from Mom
Final trip preparation done as kids finally fall asleep

Morning of:

3:30 AM wakeup call
Packing of family van
4:00ish AM departure
I ask if we’re there yet at around 4:05ish AM
Mom worries that something wasn’t brought/locked/turned off
Some kids fall back asleep
Stop at McDonald’s in Maine (which led to a very important life discovery – syrup is good on sausage paddies!)
Post-McDonald’s “PEI Surprise” given to each child that behaved up to that point on trip (G.I. Joe figures were a favorite one year)
Some sort of argument/fight breaks out between siblings (never started by me!)
Dad threatens to turn van around
Mom reminds kids of possibility of future “PEI Surprises”
Kids hopefully start behaving
One or more children get car sick
Van makes it through Maine and reaches Canadian border
Mom sings “Oh, Canada!” and encourages everyone to sing along

Afternoon of:

Picnic lunch stop in Canada
Younger kids fear using sketchy bathroom on picnic grounds
Post-lunch second round of “PEI Surprises”
“How much longer until the ferry?” questions begin
Sibling rivalry starts back up (again, never my fault)
Dad stops threats, actually stops the van, and all five children become suddenly silent
Van becomes hot, sweaty, and smelly (okay, this one usually was my fault)
Mom reminds us “We’re almost at the ferry”
Dad turns van into race car, trying to make an earlier boat
Van reaches ferry and waits for next available boat
Family makes bets on what ferry we will get
Third and final round of “PEI Surprises”
Ferry trip – brothers play video games and/or see how many jellyfish they can see in the water
Sight of red dirt / entrance into PEI
Siblings stretch arms forward to claim “I was the first one in PEI this year!”
“How much longer until we get there?” questions begin
UPEI planetarium sighting – a sure sign we were almost there

Evening:

Countdown chanting begins after turn onto street the cottage is on (Dun, dun, dun, dun. DUN, DUN DUN DUN)
Arrival at “Big Stone Farm” in Millcove
Greeting from Gram and Grandpa Dave
Sit down to dinner already prepared by Gram
Unpacking of van
Mom, Dad, and all children do not take long falling asleep

Please note: Bathroom stops along the way only coincided with stops for meals – one of the reasons I believe my siblings and I can “hold it” better than most!

Although the trips these days are a bit less eventful now, I still always get excited for my annual trek to PEI. It is a trip full of relaxation, beaches, Celtic music, and hockey. It is a place I can hang out with my family and feel peace. Although I highly recommend going there, I must admit I hope not too many people find out about it. Although I didn’t realize it when I was young, I really am lucky to have PEI in my life.

Some PEI sites:

Official Page: http://www.gov.pe.ca/

UPEI site: http://home.upei.ca/

Newspaper: http://www.theguardian.pe.ca

NHL players from PEI: http://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi?country=CA&province=PE&state=

Funny story about a PEI Judge: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/04/09/pei-doyle-assault-verdict-584.html

Favorite PEI musicians:

Richard Wood - http://www.rwood.ca/

Cynthia MacLeod - http://www.cynthiamacleod.com

Fiddlers’ Sons - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2455051974

Lucy Maud Montgomery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Maud_Montgomery

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20238247864

(I looked for an official LMM page, but couldn’t find one)

My other UPEI t-shirts:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-63-university-of-prince-edward.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-164-upei-dept-of-athletics.html

Other PEI t-shirts:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-129-canada-prince-edward-island.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-219-cow-wars.html

PS- this shirt would have been perfect for me/today: http://shirtcrazy.com/BIZyCart.asp?ITEM=TR-ATA1885-AT&NEXTPAGE=Detail-F.htm&CLIENT=ShirtCrazy

T-shirt #332: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

2010-11-28T23:00:00.002-05:00

Much like struggles I have faced in my life, I couldn’t have made it through this t-shirt blog without the help and support of my family and friends. This shirt was donated (along with many others) from my awesome friend Patrick, who I met my freshman year in college…

It was September of 1992, and I had just moved into my dorm at Boston College. I had been getting chemotherapy treatments all summer long for my cancerous brain tumor, so I wasn’t feeling or looking my best. My roommates had not arrived in our tiny forced triple home away from home, so I still didn’t know anyone in my dorm. I left my door open as I settled in, and Patrick was the first person to walk in and introduce himself.

We quickly bonded over two things. One, both of our fathers had gone to schools that were rivals of BC. His dad went to Notre Dame, and mine had gone to Holy Cross. Although I don’t think that qualifies either of us as being rebels, we got a kick out of it. Two, our taste in music was very similar. Although The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (http://www.bosstonesmusic.com/index1.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Mighty_Bosstones) weren’t in our conversations yet, we both liked Extreme and were looking forward to the upcoming release of their third album. We would find out later that we shared many other interests (hockey being a big one), but these two were definitely enough to form the foundation of what would be a life-long friendship.

As freshman year continued and my health improved, Patrick and I found out we were among the very few in our dorm who weren’t interested in going out drinking every weekend. It provided more bonding time, and we went to BC hockey games and played a “few” video games together. We often shook our heads while watching all the drunken students stumbling back into our dorm.

This quickly changed second semester when I decided I wanted to see what all the fuss over drinking was about. I told Patrick’s roommate Tim that I was ready to give it a shot, and we planned a whole night of it. Like we did this summer (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-213-wimpy-slacker.html), we made a stop at “Godzilla Burger” (a.k.a. The Eagle’s Deli) before going to the party (The idea was to provide a nice base of hamburger for the alcohol that would be coming later that night). After eating we made our way to 1711 Comm Ave (yes, I still remember the address), and my relationship with alcohol began.

I ended up puking all over myself in the middle of the party, and Patrick made sure I got home okay. He even handed me a Tic-Tac while he helped me make my way to the bus that took us back to campus. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough for me to learn my lesson.

That summer, Patrick and I kept in touch by (yes, I know!) writing letters and making the occasional long distance phone call (he was in California). We talked about all the BC babes we lusted after, and how cool it was going to be living together our sophomore year – even though we wouldn’t be living on lower campus like most second year students.

Not long after we moved into 107 Roncalli Hall (for everyone keeping score at home) my drinking escalated, but Patrick still took care of me. It was really fitting that this year one of the albums Patrick started listening to was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Don’t Know How to Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Know_How_to_Party), because I did not know how to party. There was the night BC beat #1 Notre Dame on the last play of the game and I puked all over my friend’s floor. There was the night I was taken to the ER in an ambulance. There were nights I was violent, nights I blacked out, and nights I did both. I was selfish, stubborn, and out of control. But, Patrick never moved out. He worried about me and he put up with me.

I was crushed when Patrick told me he was going to be living with a group of other guys for junior year, but really how could you blame him? Anyone else would have moved out during that sophomore year, but Patrick didn’t. And even with all the crap I caused, he still hung out with me during junior year. We did enjoy sober activities like watching and playing hockey, going to concerts, and checking out all of the female coeds. But, he still watched me get drunk and act like an idiot. He still was a great friend even though my drinking was taking my life away. And he helped me after what would end up being the last time I drank (May of my junior year).

Senior year would be the only year at BC that I didn’t drink. Although Patrick and I didn’t live in the same place on campus, he quickly became known as the “7^th Man” in Mod 40A. The absence of my drinking immediately made our friendship stronger and I was actually able to remember all the fun times we were having. And even though we watched Tommy Boy 384 times, played 7382 hockey video games, and had a few run-ins with the BC police, we managed to graduate on time!

After graduation, I took a road trip to California (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-24-alcatraz-506938.html) with Patrick and a couple of our buddies. Patrick was returning home, and he wouldn’t be back in Massachusetts for another three years…

I am happy to say Patrick has stayed in the Bay State since then and we are still hanging out on a regular basis. He has been one of my biggest supporters ever since we met, and gave me a bunch of t-shirts for this blog without even thinking about it. I think one of the best things about our friendship is that his son calls me Uncle Dave – it really is an honor. Many people have more money than me. Many people have a better car than me. But if any of these people don’t have a friend like Patrick, I feel sorry for them. Thanks for everything Patrick…your friendship and support are truly priceless.

PS- here is the link to Patrick’s favorite MMB song, Everybody’s Better: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1250&bih=587&q=mighty+mighty+bosstones+everybody%27s+better&aq=1&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=mighty+mighty+bosstones+everybo&gs_rfai=Cn2JwyAzzTIWPK6W2iwOPp4FUAAAAqgQFT9C0mrc

T-shirt #331: A Video Game Odyssey

2010-11-27T17:51:00.006-05:00

Even though this is my 8^th (maybe last?) t-shirt that has something to do with video games, (you can click on links all 7 others listed below), they aren’t the only kind of games that I play.

Every week, a group of Holy Cross students come over to Hope Lodge and hang out with the guests. We usually end up playing Apples to Apples, which is one of the most fun “party games” I have ever played.

It takes just a minute to learn: there are cards with nouns/pronouns/proper nouns and cards with adjectives. Each player holds 7 noun cards in their hand while “judges” take turns picking one adjective card. Each player then gives the judge the noun he/she thinks the judge will think is the best match for that adjective. If the judge picks your noun, you keep the adjective card as a way of keeping score. As described here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples_to_Apples), we usually play the “Infinite Apples” version, where you play until you all agree it’s time to stop (or whenever the HC students have to head back to school).

Apples to Apples comes with blank cards that players can write on to make what they think is the perfect match for the adjective. The game we play with at Hope Lodge contains the home made cards “Hope Lodge”, “Dave’s Ass”, “flavory”, and “Alderaan” (you can look that one up, but I believe it was picked for the words hot, rebellious, and revolutionary. “Dave’s Ass” is usually picked for words like Perfect, Wonderful, or Stupendous. We also had a match of Fuzz and Fuzzy and Helen Keller with Visionary.

I think the best thing about Apples to Apples is that it’s fun win or lose. Yes, it is more fun to win, but this game is entertaining whether the cards are with you or against you.

Cranium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranium_(board_game)) also tops my list of favorite all-time board games. I love it because it is a combination of skills used in Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, Charades, and other word games. Creative Cat has you drawing, drawing blind, and making things out of clay. The Data Head questions can be true/false, multiple choice, or just a regular trivia question. Star Performer questions might make you hum a song, act like a famous person, act out a regular charades-type answer, and the Cranium Wow has a new one where one person moves another like a puppet and the “puppet person” has to guess what they are acting out. With Word Worm questions, you have to spell as a group, spell backwards, define words, solve puzzles with missing letters, or rearrange letters to get the answer.

Playing Cranium over the years has produced many memorable and hilarious moments (and yes, some of these you had to be there). One night, my brother’s wife was trying to act like the Kramer character from Seinfeld. She left the room and came running in (much like Kramer), did her best Kramer face and sound effect, and blurted out something like, “I want a pizza place where you make your own pizza!”. Another time my father was trying to act like Jacques Cousteau and in some sort of French accent was telling us “I am on zee boat and I want to look at zee aneemals in zee water”. Damn, I wish I had that on video! One of the first times I ever played Cranium my cousin Matt picked a Star Performer card where he had to act like a famous person. He read the card just as my aunt walked in and started to laugh. As he was laughing he said, “I just can’t do this with my mother in the room”. After thinking about possible ways he could act it out, he just kept laughing and had to refuse an attempt. The card was “Monica Lewinsky”. I think the funniest happened a couple of years ago at Hope Lodge. It was the first time we were playing with the “puppet” category, and one of the Holy Cross students had me moving my hands and I thought I was driving a car (see picture). He then made me get down on my knees and I quickly guessed I was milking a cow. A few turns later, I picked a card up with a word one of the HL guests had to draw. Looking at the word (which was Tea Bag) I started laughing hysterically and said “Well, it’s a good thing this one wasn’t in the “human puppet” category!” (If you don’t understand, feel free to look up tea bag at http://www.urbandictionary.com). Luckily, the guest had no idea why the Holy Cross students and I were all laughing to the point of tears.

Last year at my cousin’s house, we were gathered for our usual post-Turkey Day game night (which was also a surprise birthday party for my sister Megan) and we tried the game Liebrary. This one (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20130/liebrary) is similar to Apples to Apples because people take turns being the judge each round. But this game is all about books. Each judge reads a card with a book title, author, and synopsis. Then each player writes down what they think is the first line of this book. The judge then reads all of these first lines including the actual first line randomly placed with the others. Players then guess which line they think is the correct first line and get a point for guessing correctly and a point if anyone guesses the line that they wrote. Sometimes it’s really hard to come up with a good first line in time, so I try to relate the synopsis to some other story I am familiar with (I think last year there was a book about twins trying to trick other people and my line was about the Brady Bunch episode when Peter meets his twin and they try to do just that (see “Two Petes in a Pod” Episode 113 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Brady_Bunch_episodes).

Oh yes, the t-shirt. This one was donated from Psycho Reindeer (http://www.psychoreindeer.com, http://www.psychoreindeer.com/t-shirt/a-video-game-odyssey), and is a spoof of the 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you haven’t seen it (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)), I highly recommend putting it on your Netflix list or seeing if your library has it. Here is the list of my other video game t-shirts and the sequence from the movie that this t-shirt is referring to. Looking forward to game night tonight!!!

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-2-video-games.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-78-know-your-mushrooms.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-155-super-mario-brothers.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-226-if-this-shirt-is-not-sweaty.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-253-up-up-down-down-left-right.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-295-8-bit-stickup.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-321-oregon-trail-you-have-died.html

T-shirt #330: ASSHOLE

2010-11-26T12:07:00.004-05:00

When I took this shirt out of a package donated from Foul Mouth Shirts (http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/funny-t-shirts, http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/New-Shirts/ASSHOLE-FASHION-T-SHIRT.htm), I knew it would have to be a weekend shirt and I knew I would most likely save it for a day I hung out with my friend Carl. And that’s not because Carl is an asshole, he just knows the difference between someone being a “funny asshole” and an “asshole asshole”:

(That little clip was part of a larger project called R.B.I. that you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Iyi0aM6xtM)

But, what how does the rest of the world define “asshole”?

Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/asshole) defines an asshole as “a stupid, mean, or contemptible person” or a “worthless and annoying person”.

Wikepedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asshole) describes asshole as a variant of arsehole, and is used as a profanity towards someone the speaker does not like or approve of. It also makes reference to my favorite song using the word, Denis Leary’s “Asshole”:

Wiki has another listing for the card game Asshole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asshole_(card_game)), which I played many hands of when I was drinking. I usually volunteered to be asshole for the game because I never understood drinking games – I just wanted to get drunk as quickly as I could.

Not sure if you’re an asshole? You can take this online questionnaire to find out: http://electricpulp.com/guykawasaki/arse/

This survey goes along with the book The No Asshole Rule (http://www.amazon.com/Asshole-Rule-Civilized-Workplace-Surviving/dp/0446526568/sr=8-1/qid=1170371963?ie=UTF8&s=books), which argues that assholes in the workplace need to go.

While I would like to think that generally speaking I am not an asshole, I know my friends (especially guy friends) and I definitely act like assholes towards each other. But, it’s all in fun. We say things and do things we never would to the general public and we make each other laugh. We compete and talk trash, but it’s all good. Sure, sometimes if someone is in a bad mood it can get ugly, but we always forgive. I think it’s actually one of the ways guys show affection towards each other. Whether I’m an asshole or not, I know I am looking forward to some video game hockey with Carl later…

T-shirt #329: HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2010-11-25T20:24:00.003-05:00

When my nephew helped my sister pick this shirt out for me, I was hoping he had today in mind for the day I would wear it.

It was another great Thanksgiving for me today, and I have a lot to be thankful for:

- My awesome family who has always shown me love, support, and understanding

- My great friends who have stayed with me through some hard times

- All of the many, many, many laughs I have shared with these people

- My health – 18 years cancer free, 22 years with Crohn’s but only 2 hospitalizations

- My job at Hope Lodge and all the great, brave people it has put in my life along with everyone that works and volunteers there

- Hockey – playing, watching the Bruins, BC, and Worcester Sharks, and beating Carl in video games

- The first annual Thanksgiving Morning Roller Hockey Game today

- Star Wars

- All of the US troops who have served, are now serving, and will serve

- The fact that I have never had to worry about getting my next meal

- All of the people and companies who helped me with this blog

- Music - Especially The Beatles, Extreme, and Pearl Jam

- Kevin Smith movies

- That I was privileged enough to get a college education

- All of the teachers I had that made learning interesting

- Jon Stewart and The Daily Show

- My mother’s and aunt’s cooking (especially today!)

- My Little Brother

- The Red Sox (and their World Series titles in 2004 and 2007)

- Comedians, especially Denis Leary and all the laughs he has given me

- Prince Edward Island

- Growing up in Westboro, MA

- My Crohn’s doctor and every doctor and nurse that has helped me

- I have always had a warm, safe place to sleep at night

- Glen teaching me guitar

- Sunblock with SPF strong enough for me

- The freedom I have to write…

My list is longer, and I hope yours is too. It’s a nice list to keep in your mind whenever you are having a bad day. Trust me, it helps. I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

T-shirt #328: Pearl Jam (Choices - 9 out of 10 kids prefer crayons to guns)

2010-11-24T18:15:00.003-05:00

Outside of the obvious family and friends I am thankful for (see tomorrow’s blog for them), Pearl Jam is right up there on my list.

Pearl Jam came into my life during my senior year in high school, the same time another very influential entity entered in it: my brain cancer. I first heard “Alive” played on WAAF and loved watching Eddie’s acrobatics in the “Even Flow” video, but I didn’t really get into PJ until the summer I was going through cancer treatment. My older brother Jon (looking out for me as always) brought me in his Discman (high-tech for 1992!) and a bunch of his CDs. One of them was Ten, and I was sold. Unlike the party/get chicks music of the 80’s, this stuff was a lot darker and was about real life. I have no doubt it helped me visualize the chemo killing my cancer, and I had no doubts then I would be a Pearl Jam fan for life.

By the time their second album Vs. was released, I had already taken many punches and lost many fights in my battle with alcohol. But much like my fight with cancer, Pearl Jam was also with me through the “Drinking Days”. My ritual was to pop in my Ten cassette with the goal of being drunk before the end of the first side. I often made my goal, and left to fulfill my second goal: get to the party.

As I began listening (and drinking) to the Vs. more, I started making my own version of the lyrics that related to my drinking. “Don’t call me daughter” became “Don’t call me sober” or “Don’t call Dave sober”. “Got a gun, fact I’ve got two” was “Got a drink, fact I’ve got two” and “Glorified version of a pellet gun” became “Glorified version of a Gordon’s bottle” (Gordon’s was my cheap-o vodka of choice). It was a perfect mix of Pearl Jam angst and post-cancer anger, brewing into an alcohol explosion.

I was very excited when my buddy across the hall in my dorm said his Dad could get us tickets to the Pearl Jam show at the Garden. The concert ended up being less than a week after Kurt Cobain killed himself, which definitely added to the feel of the night. Eddie and the boys rocked the place on a stage full of candles and with a great set list (http://pearljam.com/show/boston-garden-apr-11-1994). It was the first time I heard “Corduroy” (and it was only the 4^th time they played it live: http://pearljam.com/song/corduroy), which has become one of my favorite PJ songs. It was definitely a bright spot during a year that was darkened with drinking and drinking-related ER visits and rehab and even more drinking.

A year later I stopped drinking, but continued to abuse Pearl Jam and would continue to over the years. I bought the albums, went to shows, and defended them (to this day, thanks to Carl!) whenever anyone dared badmouth them around me. When my friend Glen taught me how to play guitar, Pearl Jam songs were among the first I wanted to know (I recorded myself playing a few for the blog, but thought the originals would serve it better). Simply, these guys became “my band”.

Not only are they my band because of the music, I admire how they take on responsibility with their fame. And even though I might ask “Hey, what happened to that whole Take on Tickemaster thing?”, I know they have helped and continue to help people. Guitarist Mike McCready suffers (like me) from Crohn’s Disease, and has played benefit shows and been active trying to increase Crohn’s awareness (http://www.ccfa.org/about/news/mccreadypsa, http://pearljam.com/news/mike-mccready-discusses-restroom-access-law-king-5-tv). Mike also struggled with drinking – I think I need to meet this guy!

So if you’re reading this Pearl Jam (and Eddie, I know you’re just a guy like me), I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for helping me through some tough times and for inspiring me. You are to me what The Beatles are to you. Thanks, I really hope we get to hang out someday…

T-shirt #327: BlahBlahBlahRockCrawlingBlahBlahBlah

2010-11-23T19:29:00.004-05:00

Okay, I admit it. Before today, I had no idea what Rock Crawling was. Lucky, Google and my friend Christi (who donated this t-shirt) helped me, and now I will show you…

From (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_crawling): Rock crawling is an extreme form of off road driving using vehicles anywhere from stock to highly modified to overcome obstacles. In rock crawling, drivers drive highly modified four-wheel-drive vehicles such as trucks, Jeeps, and "buggies" over very harsh terrain. Driving locations include boulders, mountain foothills, rock piles, mountain trails, etc.

Rock crawling is about slow-speed, careful and precise driving, and high torque generated through large gear reductions in the vehicles drivetrain. Rock crawlers often drive up, down and across obstacles that would appear impassable. Such vehicles to rock climb are primarily 4x4s.

Rock crawling competitions range from local events to national series. A rock crawling competition consists of obstacle courses that are about 100-200 yards long. Each obstacle is set up with gates, similar to a ski course.

Here are some visuals:

And believe it or not, there is even a site for the World Extreme Rockcrawling Championship Series: http://www.werocklive.com

It took a while for this to load, but there is a rock crawler game here: http://www.flashracingonline.com/node/1098/play

So, now you can go and ask people if they have ever heard of rock crawling. And when they say “no”, you can tell them all about it.

You’re welcome.

T-shirt #326: LET IT BE (The Beatles)

2010-11-22T20:47:00.004-05:00

I know it’s not quite Thanksgiving yet, but I’m really thankful that my mother was a Beatles fan. And I’m thankful she passed her albums down to my older brother Jon. And I’m really thankful I got to listen to all of those albums with my family. My name is Dave, and I’m a Beatles fan…

Although it could be argued that Abbey Road was the last Beatles album (most of it was recorded after Let It Be), Let It Be was the last studio album released by the band – on May 8, 1970. But I hadn’t even been born yet, so I always just referred to it as one of their “later albums”. My favorites from Let It Be (most likely because they were the ones I heard the most when I was a kid) are Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, and Across the Universe. See them below for your listening pleasure:

One thing I learned doing research for this blog was that there was a Let It Be documentary shot while the album was being recorded (http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0065976/). It includes footage of an unannounced rooftop concert and a peek at the tension that would eventually lead to their breakup. I really hope I get to watch this movie sooner rather than later, but there is no set DVD release date right now.

Speaking of recent release dates, The Beatles recently made their way into the “Wonderful Digital Music World of iTunes” - http://www.apple.com/the-beatles/. And as I type, I just saw a commercial for this release during the commercials for House (and in between Bruins periods 1 and 2). I have mixed feelings about this. I think it’s good that another generation will have access to The Beatles and all the great albums they put out. But, I would rather have those songs passed from person to person than iTunes to computer. I don’t think The Beatles or Apple needs any more money. But I also think that many Beatles albums are a lot better than anything you can get on iTunes. Why didn’t Apple include the “Let It Be” documentary as part of the release? One of the many things that make me say, “If I was in charge I would have…”

Regardless of if you are a Beatles fan or what Beatles album is your favorite or how you feel about the iTunes release, one thing is for sure: The Beatles are here to stay and their songs will continue to be listened to, sung along to, and played. I’m very thankful for The Beatles, and I’m really hoping Glen can come through for me with a “Let It Be” movie bootleg…

For my Rubber Soul t-shirt, see: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-258-beatles-rubber-soul.html

More Let It Be album info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Be

PS – In case you didn’t know, Paul wrote Let It Be about his mother, not the mother of Jesus.

T-shirt #325: WANNA GO? (Worcester Sharks)

2010-11-21T19:58:00.003-05:00

My name is Dave and I love hockey. And I will freely admit that I do like the fights quite a bit. But as a huge fan of college hockey (where fights are very rare), they aren’t the reason I watch the game. Although when I’m at a Bruins or Sharks game and a fight does break out, I am usually one of the fans cheering the loudest.

Some argue that fights shouldn’t be a part of the game and they are the reason hockey isn’t as popular as baseball, football, or basketball. I think these people either don’t watch hockey enough and/or have never played hockey. Fights are part of the game and I think they eliminate some of the “wimpy” things you might see in other sports: trash talking, cheap shots, showboating, bean balls, or disrespect of the opposition. If you do any of this stuff in hockey, you are asking for a fight so you’d better be ready.

Denis Leary had it right in the book version of his show No Cure For Cancer (p. 39): “That’s why I like hockey: you drop your gloves and beat the shit out of them right there. They’ve got a special box where they make you sit for a couple of minutes, have a rest, a drink of water, and then you come back out whenever you’re ready. I think that’s a great idea. I think we should combine that with real life. I think everybody should have a penalty box at their jobs. You don’t like your boss? Beat the shit out of him-take a five-minute penalty. People would be showing up to work at five o’clock in the morning: “I’m gonna hip-check you into the Xerox machine! I hate you!”

The Love of Hockey is no secret in the McGrath house, and there were years Santa brought me VHS tapes with titles like “Best of Terry O’Reilly Fights”, “Blood on the Ice”, or “Best Fights of John Kordic”. One year, I got a tape that was simply called “Probert vs. Domi”. They had two fights in 1992, and while Domi skated around like he won the first one, the second one is pretty one-sided. But, I’ll let you judge for yourself…

Even though hockey isn’t just about the fights for me, there is a fight in hockey that I think everyone should be behind. Hockey Fights Cancer (http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=25343) has been active since 1998 and you can order really cool t-shirts like this one (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/04/t-shirt-95-hockey-fights-cancer.html) from my t-shirt blog here: http://shop.nhl.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=10777782

I wore this shirt today (thanks, Sam!) because I went to watch a Worcester Sharks (http://www.sharksahl.com/index.asp) game with my Little Brother and one of the Hope Lodge guests. Like I described here, http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/07/t-shirt-199-worcester-sharks.html, we got the tickets for free from the Sharks. There were a few scrums, but nothing that turned into a full fight (my companions and I were hoping for at least one!). Oh yeah, the Sharks also came back with two 3^rd period goals and won the game 4-3! Thanks again for the free tickets, Sharks!

Looking around online for what I wanted to include in this blog, I found a site I can’t believe I had never be on before: http://www.hockeyfights.com. If you’ve never seen it before, you’re welcome. And you might also want to check out their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/hockeyfightsdotcom

Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, “Wanna Go?” is what you ask someone if you are playing in a game and want to fight. I’m betting a few other choice words are spoken between hockey players about to fight, but those are the ones that will get it started. And in case you missed it, here is a nice, old school, slugfest from a recent Bruins game:

T-shirt #324: EAGLES, Boston College

2010-11-20T15:39:00.002-05:00

Brendan is awesome!

That’s what my nephew’s reply was when I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to include for my blog on his birthday. He then told me it should also be the first thing that I wrote. What can I say; it’s hard to argue with a birthday boy!

The birthday boy and I had a bond from the second he was born - we shared the same middle name (my mother’s maiden name). After he had grown some, when Brendan had to make choices for himself, he made a decision that would bond us even more. He chose to root for the Boston College Eagles…

Even though he was alive in 2001, Brendan doesn’t remember when BC won their first hockey championship since 1949. In 2006, he was well into his Eagle Allegiance when BC made their first of three straight trips to the college hockey championship game. BC led when he went to sleep, but my brother Jon said the next morning went something like this: Brendan walked downstairs and checked the final score on NESN Sportsdesk. As soon as he saw The Eagles had lost, he didn’t say a word. He just shut the TV off and walked into the kitchen for breakfast. At least he didn’t have to watch BC hit the post with a second left on a shot that would have sent the game to OT. The following year, The Eagles led the game after two periods but again failed to win it all. This time, they gave up the game-winning goal with only 19 seconds left to play. Ouch.

I am glad to report that since 2007, BC has had a lot more success and won national championships in both 2008 and 2010. Brendan has been able to proudly wear many BC “Frozen Four Champs” shirts and sweatshirts, and even got a picture autographed by BC coach Jerry York (who, by the way, is one of the nicest guys alive – all I did was email him and ask him if he’d sign the picture for Brendan’s first communion and he was glad to when after I sent it to him). Although the BC hockey team has been stumbling out of their #1 preseason gate, I look forward to rooting for them with my nephew in many seasons to come. Happy Birthday Brendan….you are awesome!

http://bc.edu/

http://bceagles.cstv.com/

T-shirt #323: Admiral Ackbar - It's a trap!

2010-11-19T17:16:00.003-05:00

This shirt was donated from (go figure) Nerdy Shirts (http://www.nerdyshirts.com, http://www.nerdyshirts.com/it-s-a-trap) and I wore it today for one of my friends who had a stressful week figuring it (and this blog) will give her a few laughs.

If you don’t know who Admiral Ackbar is, it means you haven’t seen Return of the Jedi enough times. Although not a major Star Wars character, The Admiral has made his way onto two of my favorite shows: Robot Chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Chicken) and The Big Bang Theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory). I have often said that the Sheldon from The B.B. Theory would not be out of character wearing many of the t-shirts from this blog.

Here are the clips from these shows that make reference to A.A. Oh yeah, the trap he’s referring to is the Death Star’s shield being up and the Rebel Fleet turning around to find most of the Imperial Starfleet waiting to laser them into oblivion (you should really watch these movies if you haven’t!). PS- Admiral Ackbar’s line of “Big mistakey?” in the final video is one of my favorite Robot Chicken moments. Hope you enjoy!

T-shirt #322: Relay for Life Survivor, 2010

2010-11-18T19:04:00.002-05:00

Thought I’d try a video blog for today…

http://www.cancer.org/Involved/Participate/RelayForLife/history-of-relay-for-life

Hope to see you all on New Year's Eve!

T-shirt #321: Oregon Trail, YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY

2010-11-17T19:46:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Katie O’!

You might think that this t-shirt (which I got from 6 Dollar Shirts - http://www.6dollarshirts.com/t-shirts, http://6dollarshirts.com/t-shirts/You-Have-Died-of-Dysentery-p-11195.html) is a weird one to wear for my cousin’s birthday, but it does remind me of her. No, we never trekked the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon together. She did start going to the same school as me when we were in the 5^th grade, and back then there was no video game (especially educational video game) bigger than the Oregon Trail…

It was 1985, and I was at my last year at Fales in Westboro. Katie had moved to The ‘Boro from Northboro during February vacation, and I really had mixed feelings about it. One the one hand, I was looking forward to the change from occasional poking fun at her to almost daily poking fun at her. But, my familial-protective mode also kicked in. It was okay for me to make jokes, but rest assured no other 5^th grader would dare make fun of Katie!

Because I have always been what you might call “late to mature”, it wasn’t until high school when my cousin Katie also became my friend Katie. We weren’t going to the same school then, but we were both in the St. Luke’s youth group (SYF represent!) together. I did still make fun of her, but it was in more of a loving way than my 5^th-8^th grade impress-my-friends way. We planned together, worked events together, and she even tried to help me if I had a crush on any of the other SYF girls.

We did have our moments of disagreement in high school. One night after I had watched a Bruins playoff game with a group of friends, we thought it was a great idea to play street hockey in the Fales School parking lot. It was about 11:00 at night and we were being so loud that Katie (the next street over) could hear us. Very motherly and authoritative, Katie marched over and told us how ridiculous we were being. Of course at the time I thought she was overreacting, but she was completely in the right and she was doing it because she didn’t want any of us getting into trouble (something that I haven’t had difficulty finding over the years). I just hope she laughs as much as I do when I think about this night.

While I was at BC for my freshman year of college, Katie was at nearby Emerson College. Because of this proximity, she sometimes had to deal with the not-so-happy results of the start of my relationship with alcohol. Luckily for me she only showed love, support, and patience. I just hope my drinking had nothing to do with her decision to transfer to St. Mike’s!

Since college, Katie and I have become even closer and (I like to think) the moments of my poor judgment have become fewer and fewer. She has helped develop my appreciation of Irish music, and even started an Irish session every Thursday at Mulligan’s in Westboro (http://www.mulliganstaverne.com). Earlier this year, she volunteered to host my birthday party/game night and not surprisingly it turned out to be the usual laugh-fest people always get when they hang out at the O’Neill’s. Katie simply been an important part in my realization (and often repeated motto) that the only thing in life that really matters is the people you have in yours. Katie, I am very lucky to have you in mine. I hope your birthday has been fabulous, and this blog has helped make it a happy one…I love you!

Oh yeah, Katie is an amazing singer and you should check out her site here: http://www.katieone.com

Other Katie-related t-shirt blogs:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/01/t-shirt-11-mcgrath-alaska.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-150-oneill-usa.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-159-whos-your-paddy-2.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-215-ireland.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-305-vote-dave-im-dave-and-i.html

T-shirt #320: SOME PEOPLE ARE GAY. GET OVER IT!

2010-11-16T22:04:00.005-05:00

Happy International Tolerance Day!

My name is Dave and I am straight. I didn’t choose to be straight, I’m just straight. I didn’t learn how to be straight from my parents. As I mentioned (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/11/t-shirt-316-i-only-sleep-with-best.html), I was raised Catholic, so there was not a lot of “sex talk” happening at my house. What I did learn from my parents was how to treat people well. I never saw either of my parents judging someone based on their skin color, gender, sexuality, or anything that wasn’t a result of a decision they made.

Yes, yes, yes. I know some people still like to think that if someone is gay, it is a lifestyle they are choosing. I have two things to ask these people.

One, when did you choose to be straight? I know I never did. I am attracted to women. I am especially drawn to smart women…smart women with a good sense of humor and who watch sports. Everyone has his or her preferences. You go with what turns you on, and what makes you happy. As long as it involves consenting adults, I say go for it.

Two, why would you choose something that might potentially lead to intolerant reactions and behaviors from your family, friends, co-workers, anti-gay groups? Seriously, do you think gay people are making this so-called “decision” just to upset you? Or, do you think they are doing it because it feels right?

And I’ve heard it over and over again. It’s immoral and GOD said so in The Bible (or whatever the holy book of choice). To the Christians, I ask when did Jesus say he was against homosexuals? Whenever Christians claim “It’s in The Bible”, they quote the Old Testament. I found this little gem online (http://carm.org/christianity-and-homosexuality) that only has Old Testament quotes. I also found this one (http://ldolphin.org/Homo.shtml) about what Jesus said regarding homosexuality – nothing. But, what did Jesus and (as I wrote about: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-245-coexist.html) and just about EVERY major religion teach: The Golden Rule – Treat others as you would like to be treated. So to all you straight Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. ,etc., I ask you this: Would you wanted to be treated differently at all because you were straight? Christians, how do you think Jesus would treat gay people if he were here today? I’m no religious scholar, but I’m thinking he’d be a lot more friendly, tolerant, and LOVING than you…

There is also the issue of gay people in the military. Another no-brainer if you ask me. If you are brave enough to join (not me) and good at finding and killing the bad guys, does it really matter what and/or who you do in your bedroom? I want the military that defends my country to be filled with the people that are the best at what they do, not just the best straight people. The Pentagon recently completed a survey of the military (the results were leaked but will be released by the Pentagon on December 1^st) and 70% of those who were surveyed thought the effect of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would be “positive, mixed, or non-existent”. I hope they also simply asked, “Do you think ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ should be repealed?” I guess we’ll see in December. The Daily Show did a great bit about McCain and this issue:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

It Gets Worse PSA

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Rally to Restore Sanity

Just like I don’t think someone’s sexuality makes them a better soldier, I don’t think it affects the so-called bonds of marriage. 50% of marriages are now ending. And I wonder how many of the 50% who are still married are actually happily married. I have never been married, but have had (in addition to countless “lucky ladies” I dated) about 10 what I’d call “serious/girlfriend relationships” over the years, but none lead to marriage. Had one of those led to marriage, I don’t see how two men or two women deciding to get married would effect ours. I know gay dating hasn’t effected my straight dating. I don’t know the details, but I know married couples have certain rights that non-married couples don’t have. If any two people are willing to publicly announce and make their togetherness “official”, why should it matter what gender these two people are? I really hope the happiness of your marriage doesn’t depend on someone else’s marriage.

Like most of the problems (in this and other countries), I think the solution starts with our youth. And it’s sad to say, but a lot of younger people have not been acting tolerant towards gay people either. It didn’t take long for Google to show me studies (http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/children-s-mental-health/bullying-and-gay-youth) or news (http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2010/11/equality-forum-recalls-brandon-bitner-14-who-killed-himself-by-running-in-front-of-tractor-trailer.html) that gay teens aren’t always treated well. The It Gets Better project (http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com) was started to show these teens that you can live a happy and fulfilling life no matter how people mistreat you because of your sexuality. Oh, yeah, then there is this shirt…

This shirt is from Stonewall (http://www.stonewall.org.uk) an organization based in London whose goal (http://www.stonewall.org.uk/about_us/2532.asp) is to lobby against legislation that attacks gays and bisexuals and fight homophobia and homophobic bullying through education (http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_for_all/default.asp).

If you want one, you can order it here http://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_you_can_do/2590.asp and for other ways to support Stonewall, you can go here: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_you_can_do

I am not gay myself, but I do know this. If any one of my family, friends, or even Facebook friends came out and told me they were gay, I wouldn’t treat them any differently than I do now. And although they won’t have to face the decision, I hope none of them would treat me differently if I were gay. The shirt really gets it right. Some people are gay, and everyone needs to accept that and get over it. I hope at the very least people (gay or straight) have family or friends that love them and accept them for who they are. I know if you have that, it’s a lot easier to be happy…

T-shirt #319: WORCESTER, MA

2010-11-15T21:21:00.003-05:00

I’m Dave, and I live in Worcester.

I would have never expected it, but I do currently live in the 2^nd largest city in New England (http://www.worcesterma.gov/quick-facts estimates the population at 182, 596 – that’s a pretty accurate estimate!). I grew up in nearby Westboro and when I went to Worcester it was usually to see something at The Centrum (now the DCU Center, but I still say Centrum), visit my father’s work, or to see some kind of doctor. I rooted for Holy Cross to beat BC in Worcester. I went to my first concert in Worcester (Whitesnake opening up for Motley Crue, see also: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-53-motley-crue-theatre-of-pain.html). I spent a lot of time (especially before a concert) at the Worcester Galleria. Later, I would go to the Greendale Mall in Worcester.

More important than any of these “pleasure visits”, I was treated for my Crohn’s and brain cancer at the UMass University Campus (http://www.umassmemorial.org) in Worcester. So, because of great doctors and top-notch facilities located in here in “Woostah”, I can call myself a survivor. UMass is also where I went to be treated for one of my kidney stones and my second Crohn’s hospitalization 2 years ago. So even though healthwise you might not say I have been the luckiest person, I was lucky to be near Worcester when I was sick.

In addition to two of my biggest heroes (my parents) having Worcester roots, my biggest celebrity hero was raised in Worcester. Even though his website doesn’t include it in his bio, Denis Leary (http://www.denisleary.com) grew up here. You can read about my man-crush on Denis at: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-180-rescue-me.html

Recently in my life, Worcester has been the location of a great career change and businesses that have shown me the power of giving back.

It was three years ago that I finally went to the American Cancer Society website to see if they had any job openings. The Night Manager position for Hope Lodge (http://www5.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/hopelodge/ma_worcester/wr_index.asp) had just been listed, and the rest is history.

After starting at Hope Lodge, I quickly witnessed the giving nature of many of the local businesses in Worcester. The Niche Hospitality Group (http://www.nichehospitality.com) brought dinner for the Hope Lodge guests every Monday night, and has ever since I started here. That’s about 175 meals just since I’ve been here! After one phone call to the Worcester Sharks (http://www.sharksahl.com), I was told there would be free tickets to any game Hope Lodge guests wanted to go to (this also included the AHL All-Star game two years ago!). Also one time we had a 17-year-old guest who wasn’t going to be here for a Sharks home game, and the Sharks had a player come and visit him (This story was published on the AHL website: http://ism3.infinityprosports.com/ismdata/2006080401/std-sitebuilder/sites/200601/www/en/news/onthebeat/index.html?article_id=8262). It only took one email to the Worcester Tornadoes (http://www.worcestertornadoes.com) and Hope Lodge guests wouldn’t have to pay to go see a baseball game too. And every week, a groupf of students from Holy Cross (http://www.holycross.edu) come and visit Hope Lodge to play games and hang out with the guests.

In addition to getting free things for the Hope Lodge, I have also enjoyed spending money on places in Worcester. Some of my favorites are: The Ecotarium (http://www.ecotarium.org), The Historical Society (where I got this shirt)(http://www.worcesterhistory.org), Higgins Armory (http://www.higgins.org), Elm Park (http://www.worcesterma.gov/dpw/parks-rec/city-parks/elm-park), The Worcester Art Museum (okay, haven’t been yet, but plan to!) (http://www.worcesterart.org), The NU Cafe (http://www.nucafe.com), and two of my favorite concert venues: http://www.thepalladium.net, and http://www.dcucenter.com.

Even though I never thought I would live here, Worcester is now my home. I like it because it is near most of my family in Westboro. I like it because it is a lot more diverse than Westboro. I love the work and the people my job in Worcester has put me in touch with. Worcester has really helped me in many ways, and I am lucky to be able to be a part of this city and in a position to try and give back. So if you ever hear someone badmouth Worcester, I hope you direct them here…

T-shirt #318: Ben and Jerry's Tie Dye

2010-11-14T19:47:00.006-05:00

This shirt was donated from Ben and Jerry’s (thanks again!) and I wanted to wait until I was in Vermont to wear it. This weekend presented the perfect chance for this when I headed up to Burlington to visit my brother Tom. Although last night’s BC-UVM hockey game produced less than ideal results (for me that is, most of the 4000+ went home very happy), today’s stop at the Ben and Jerry’s factory (the picture is right outside it) was very satisfying…

The factory tour started with a short documentary about the beginnings and development of Ben and Jerry’s, then there was the tour itself, and finally a free sample at the end. Today’s flavor was Triple Caramel Chunk, one I have never tried, and was a lot more pleasing that BC’s 4-3 loss last night…

If you want to know more about Ben and Jerry’s, their website (http://www.benjerry.com) is full of a lot of information and fun things to do.

Ben and Jerry’s has always been involved with activism and trying to help with social issues. Their Activism page: http://www.benjerry.com/activism/mission-statement/

To find the nearest scoop shop near you, you can go here: http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops

For information about going on a factory tour: http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/factory-tours/

All of the Ben and Jerry’s flavors are here: http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/our-flavors/# My favorite B and J flavor is Half Baked: http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/our-flavors/#product_id=21

If these flavors aren’t good enough for you, you can make your own! You can try your best here http://www.benjerry.com/activism/inside-the-pint/do-the-world-a-flavor/generator.cfm to beat the flavor I designed. It’s called “Dave’s Totally Baked” and here’s what it has:

Base – Milk Chocolate, Brownie Batter
Chunks – Chocolate Peace Signs, Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Layer Cake, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Swirls – Caramel and Peanut Butter

I really, really, really hope someone at Ben and Jerry’s reads this and they make it!

Finally, if you like this t-shirt, you can check it and other ones out here: http://commerce.workflowoneaccess.com/UI/Customer.aspx?p=Catalog&CatID=VmFu1RKoCSqHn3RUHKZaT1dvc-pLsS1WsEVaQPbRvSWVvFnS2dBkIdw-e-e&CatInteropID=01-07037672-T-Shirts&CEI=d19dca46-bcc8-456f-bdd2-bb0ee81a1b7d

T-shirt #317: Feel safe at night, sleep with a nurse.

2010-11-13T07:35:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, two shirts about “sleeping” in a row. I hope you can handle it...

It’s been over six months since I wore my “I Heart Nurses” shirt (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-126-i-love-nurses.html), so I figured it was time for another and today is the perfect day for this one.

I am on my way to a Red Cross blood drive at Gillette Stadium, so I can’t write much right now, but here’s the information about it: http://www.redcrossblood.org/events/ma/bobs-high-school-heroes-blood-drive and here’s my blog about why everyone should give blood: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/10/t-shirt-286-red-cross-red-sox-donate.html

It’s not too late to make an appointment, do it!!!

And if you are ever in the unfortunate situation of being in a hospital soon, please remember all of the hard work (and long shifts) nurses do every day. I have the experience to know that nurses are really the ones that take care of patients. Doctors may “stop by” and write the orders, but nurses are the ones that make sure it all happens. Thanks again to all the nurses that have helped me over the years, and all the nurses that put in the effort every day/night/overnight!

Off to Gillette and then Burlington, VT for some BC-UVM hockey. GO EAGLES!

T-shirt #316: I ONLY SLEEP WITH THE BEST!

2010-11-12T19:45:00.003-05:00

Thanks to this donation from Foul Mouth Shirts (http://www.foulmouthshirts.com, http://www.foulmouthshirts.com/New-Shirts/I-ONLY-SLEEP-WITH-THE-BEST-T-SHIRT.htm) my mind is faced with many choices and is drawn to many places. Because I watched Little Miss Sunshine recently, I was immediately reminded of the scene with "Grandpa" giving his grandson Dwayne advice: (can’t find the clip online…)

Grandpa: [to Dwayne] Fuck a lotta women, kid, I have no reason to lie to you. Not just one, a lotta women.

Richard: Okay, dad, I think we get it.

Grandpa: [to Dwayne] Are you getting it? Is it going in anywhere? No, don't show me the pad. I don't wanna see the fucking pad.

No, I never had such a conversation with either of my grandfathers growing up. I was raised Catholic for f’s sake, where the extent of a conversation about the Birds and the Bees was at best getting a “Let me know if you have any questions about anything, ok?” from a parent.

The Catholic Church teaches that you are not supposed to have sex until you are married. But before you are married, a priest, who can never get married, counsels you on marriage. Then after that, you can’t get divorced. I could go on and on with the far outdated doctrine of Catholicism in many facets of life (if doctrine is even the right word, but you know what I mean), but this shirt is about sex. And no, I can’t honestly say I’ve been a “good Catholic boy” over the years…

I won’t go into the names, numbers, titles, locations, or “legendary status” of my sexual escapades over the years. That’s a chapter in another publication. I will say here that no matter what the details were (relationship status, time together, etc.), I did care about every woman I was with. And no matter where those relationships ended up, I hope all of those females are leading happy and fulfilling lives. In the crazy world of Facebook, I have seen some of them (Facebook friends of mine) post pictures of their weddings/newborns/kids and I am happy to see them doing well. That may sound stupid or unbelievable, but I really do want the whole world to get along. And if I can’t be happy for my exes, what chance does the world have? I just hope no one thinks of me as “The Worst” they were with…

T-shirt #315: Uncle Sam - YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE

2010-11-11T18:07:00.002-05:00

I have (luckily, I think) never had to even hold a gun in my hand. I don’t want to ever hold a gun in my hand, let alone be in a position where I would have to decide if it was my life or someone else’s that was going to end. People go through life and complain about their jobs or some person that gave them a hard time or heaven forbid their TV/internet/computer/cell phone isn’t working. The only reason we are able to live life the way we do is because of people that have fought for our country.

My grandfather fought in World War II (see dog tags). He was 27, a captain, and he left my grandmother to go fight right after they were married. Luckily for the Hayes bloodline, he made it back and they had two children (my awesome mom and wonderful aunt!). I don’t the extent of the horrors he faced when he was fighting on the front lines, but I’m pretty sure the challenges he met make my cancer and Crohn’s seem like walks in the park. He did it willingly, and he helped bring down forces of evil that wanted to change the world.

Troops have continued to fight for us “regular people” and have continued to do things that I know I am not capable of doing. They made sacrifices without even knowing me and to this day there are soldiers that put their lives on the line to make sure I can do things like write whatever the fuck I want to in this t-shirt blog. The face of evil and battleground has changed considerably since my grandfather fought in WWII, but the courage, dedication, and sacrifices of the US armed forces has remained something I will always find unbelievable.

Even though “thank you” doesn’t really cover the work that veterans have done and soldiers continue to do: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU. Happy Veteran’s Day to everyone that served, is serving, and will serve in the future – you have certainly earned it!

Finally, if you have been enjoying this blog, I am trying to get hired by www.iwearyourshirt.com to wear t-shirts for next year. If you can take the time to go here http://iwearyourshirt.com/hiring/application/7889/dave-mcgrath and view, comment, rate, and share my application, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all the support!

T-shirt #314: Etnies Ryan Sheckler Autographed

2010-11-10T21:04:00.004-05:00

Like my first t-shirt with Ryan Sheckler’s autograph (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/09/t-shirt-250-etnies-with-ryan-sheckler.html), this shirt was donated to me by Etnies. Thanks again, Rob, Etnies, and Ryan!

I am trying to auction this shirt online so I can donate the proceeds to Hope Lodge (http://www5.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/hopelodge/ma_worcester/wr_index.asp), but am having issues with Ebay right now…ugh.

Hopefully there will be more later…

In the meantime, you can check out:

http://www.ryansheckler.com

http://etnies.com