Shirts and thoughts for pre-election year media bombardment

Kathleen Anderson

Well, folks, the pre-election year is upon us once again. Not for the first or last time will we be bombarded with political ads, name-calling, out and out lies, and general juvenile behavior by those who want us to think they are qualified to speak and vote on matters that affect everyone else.

It is at this time every two to four years that I stop watching the news on television altogether. I still turn it on, but I mute it until I see the weather or traffic reports.

When I want the news, I go online, to The JOLT for local news, and anything else I explore is whatever catches my interest while I am surfing the net. I refuse to be told by the talking heads what they just told me, what they think they just told me, or what five of them, who cannot agree on the time of day, just told me.

I have a mind of my own and can decide for myself what to accept and what to reject.

Besides, I am a die-hard print reader. I like to choose what I want to read and bypass the rest. Television news does not offer you that option. You have to sit through all of it, interesting or not, until you come to the part that is important to you – like the weather and traffic reports.

I will vote, of course, when the time comes, for the least offensive candidate based upon their actions and not their words.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let’s move on to some fun.

I have recently found some ‘must haves’ for my election year wardrobe.

For instance, I recently saw a baseball cap that read “Make Lying Wrong Again.” Got to have that one.  And a tee shirt that shows the preamble to the constitution that reads “We the People Are Not Happy.” Another must have.  Maybe I should have one made that says, “Vote with your brain and not your ears.”

But I spotted my all-time favorite tee shirt years ago at a food-faire. It was worn by a young man whom I followed most of the day begging him to give it to me. Sadly, he steadfastly refused to give me the shirt off his back. But I made up my mind that day to have them made in bulk to hand out to others when the occasion arose.

The shirt read, “People with #&%* for brains shouldn’t eat prunes for breakfast.”

This fantasy has lived on in my head for years and although I have not yet had the shirts made, I have had a wonderful time dreaming about who I would give one to if I had some.

For instance, when I had my little café in California, one of the elected county officials came in for lunch with a friend one day. I happened to waitressing that day, so I greeted them, offered them menus and coffee, and left them to decide what to order.

I went back three different times to take their order and each time they told me they had not decided. On my fourth try, the county official asked me if I put meat in my tuna sandwiches.

If only I had a shirt to hand out, she would have been awarded one on the spot.

Who puts meat in their tuna?

There have been many more times and people that could have been handed a shirt over the years. I still haven’t had any made, but so far, the secret thought of dispensing them has been enough.

Secrets can be soooo much fun…