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Five Stages in the Life of a Tee-Shirt
I bought a new tee-shirt recently because the original version of this model has almost reached the end of its useful life. The old tee-shirt served me well for almost 20 years. I know; that’s somewhat hard to believe, but let me explain. Through the years, I have observed that tee-shirts typically go through five distinct stages, so that’s about four years per stage.
Before I describe the stages, though, I have to confess that I don’t actually buy many tee-shirts these days. In the past, when I was much younger, I bought tee-shirts frequently because I wore them all the time, and I liked that they reminded me of the places I’d visited, the concerts I’d attended, or the athletic teams I supported.
Today, however, I don’t need to buy that many because people are frequently giving them to me. For example, when I donate blood, I sometimes get a free tee-shirt. If I participate in a charitable walk, I usually get a tee-shirt as well. And when anyone in my extended family gets a free tee-shirt that is much too big for that person, guess who they give it to? That’s right: their favorite extra-large brother, cousin, or uncle.
