Something old - something new...

“...for it is more blessed
to give than receive."
Acts 20:25 - Bible

I was pretty sure Marilynn had given me the thing, although to be fair she is equally sure she had never seen it. 

I suppose, in the big picture, it is at best a mystery – at least in the way each of us thinks of it…never mind, it made me feel good to be reminded, in spite of our collective memories, she has a generous spirit.

The ‘thing’ is a grey tee shirt with a lovely royal blue silk screen of my high school.  It came my way, however it happened, somewhere in the early 2000s and has been a proudly worn staple over the last decade as I have endured an ever-escalating reduction in my exercise capacity. In spite of its regular use, it has held up surprisingly well.

The shirt is my favorite and every few days – following its regular washings – before taking it out of the drawer, I give it a quick look and am momentarily reminded of a place and time where all seemed right with the world.

It then comes out to play and is slipped over my head before we ‘go to work.’ This shirt brings with it a sense of quiet satisfaction, acting as a touchstone of sorts, reminding me what a privilege it was to have lived in the most supportive of communities and to have attended that school.

I had suggested several months earlier how nice it might be to have a set of those tee shirts made for the upcoming class reunion. The idea didn’t seem to get much traction, and to be honest I was a little bummed.

In full disclosure, I simply hoped for a new one, as I anticipated with a little melancholy, that like me the shirt had less life in front of it than it had in its past.

In any event, the 50^th reunion was coming up and I planned to take that tee shirt and wearing it at the informal Friday night kick off reception. Under an unbuttoned hiking shirt, its age would hardly be noticeable.

“Almost Heaven, West Virginia…"

The time came for the reunion and in a few short days the hard work by the organizing committee would come to fruition – around 160 indicated they were coming.

Fairmont, West Virginia, is nestled along the banks of the Monongahela River some 90 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  I spent the most formative years of my life in that small town – from 5^th grade through college – and unless you lived there, it is an almost purposeless exercise to describe how special it was growing up in that petri dish.

Getting there was pretty straightforward…Tucson > Dallas > Pittsburgh in the air…on the ground it was a rental car, riding a ribbon of highway into some of the most scenic land this country has to offer.

It wasn’t until I was halfway to Dallas that I realized I had left that tee shirt at home in my dresser drawer. Damn!

Heading south along Interstate 79, familiar names and feelings drifted through my mind like the softness of a gentle summer’s breeze caressing branches of the hardwood trees along the way.  Opening the car windows I took some deep breaths, and everything good from the creation of God coursed through my nostrils, into my lungs and somehow…in some way…slipped into my soul and whispered, “You’re home.”

“West ‘by God’ Virginia." – an expression well earned!

A slight detour…

The drive began Wednesday afternoon, a couple of days before the event, so I took a left turn in Morgantown and headed to Canaan Valley to visit an old college roommate. As I wandered through the twisting roads of the Appalachian Mountains, I wondered how it would be to see him again. The visit with Stan could not have been better. Older? Sure, but the spirit that had resonated more than four decades earlier was alive and well.

Friday morning it was off to Charleston to see a fellow with whom I had served in the army. Snaking through those mountain roads with the early morning sun kissing the tops of richly green mountains to the west was breath taking.

Dave was waiting at the airport in Charleston, and over the next couple of hours it seemed we were a couple of youngsters on our way to and returning from that foreign land so far west, it was in the ‘far East.’  There are few with whom I have had such rich and deep interaction…neither of us was disappointed.

Break over…

Soon, it was time to head north on I-79 to Fairmont and the beginning of the festivities that night, and what a great night it was! Tee shirtless...only I knew the mild disappointment I felt for having left that cotton companion at home.

There were events planned for the next day. I chose to take a tour hosted by the Marion County Historical Society...narrated by the formidably knowledgeable Dora Kay. It was a morning to remember.

In the afternoon there was a tour of the high school, which I missed because of another activity. When my event was done, I headed to the hotel for some work before the Saturday night festivities began.

I had started a little writing when Allen, a classmate, called the room and wondered whether he might stop by with something for me. I said sure and before I knew it there was a knock on the door. In his hand was a brand new extra large tee shirt. Not just a tee shirt, but a brand new silk-screen replica of that ‘trusty exercise partner’ sitting at home in my drawer!

I was flabbergasted!

A reflection of this community…

Carol, the high school historian and engine behind refurbishing the school and getting it on the National Registry, secretly had this shirt made for me! Since I had missed the tour, she asked Allen to pass it along.

I mentioned it would be almost pointless to describe what it was like to be brought up in the cauldron of love and care and respect this town fostered in our reunion group. It would also be difficult to express the loving spirit that saturated the room during the last evening of this marvelous event. It would be almost impossible to express the care and hours spent by fellow classmates that continue to live in this amazing community, working for several years to make these two days a truly unforgettable time.

I can say this… From a passing comment made months earlier, a caring heart and mind took the time to create a single XL grey tee shirt carrying a silk screen of my high school on its front. The kindness of that small gesture turned into one of the great gifts of my life, and reflects the character of every one of those gentle folk who more than 50 years ago lived together and were collectively taught the importance of community.

The classmates that organized this event did not give us a reunion; they gave us their love and their hearts. The tee shirt from Carol was an individual reflection of those souls who enriched my life beyond measure over the decades, continuing into this very weekend.

I will wear that old tee shirt until it is done, and based on its long life I expect to wear the new one until I am…

- ted