Skip to main content

A Very Small Venture



My life took a little detour recently when I unaccountably got into the T-shirt business.

This shirt:



It’s a message I believe in. And it’s timeless. Long after this season of acrimony is over in Columba/HoCo, this shirt and its sentiment will still be relevant. I will never be embarrassed to wear this shirt. I will never look at it, languishing in a dresser drawer, and feel embarrassed.




After I broke the news that I was going to have the shirts made, I was approached by two locals with offers to assist with the financial outlay. In both cases I refused. I was lucky I was able to front the money myself. (Well, it was only 27 shirts.) It was very important to me that I not be beholden to anyone for putting these shirts out into the world.

And with all the crazy controversies out there, I didn’t want this to turn into one of them. This was a simple transaction. I ordered the shirts. People paid me back, no profit was made.

Twenty-seven t-shirts in a sea of hundreds will not make a dent when photos are being taken or when news outlets are sizing up the state of things. And perhaps the battle is won by the group with the most matching t-shirts. But it’s my opinion that none of us will truly “win” until we get behind the sentiment on this shirt.

All school are “our schools”. All children are “our children”.

And now, I think I’ll go back to the blog business.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....
1 comment
Read more