20200705 WRITING - DAY 5

Today I am feeling "pulled" away from doing this writing exercise.  I know it's important.  But I had a discussion with myself, jumping back and forth for a while:  I'd say "What is more important to you - writing, or watching the news?"  And then I'd answer that writing is more important.  So that side won, and here I am, reporting for work:  writing.

Yesterday's efforts:

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My Black Tee Shirt

Who doesn't have a collection of tee-shirts?  I must have 100 or more stashed in various places.    The nice ones get a hanger in my closet.  The less-frequently-worn ones get folded neatly and stored in a dresser drawer, seldom opened.  And the worn out ones occupy a shelf near my gym stuff.  And this is where my black tee shirt has been kept for the last several years.

It was given to me by my former significant other, Ed Ross.  It's black, with a white image on it.  I'm wondering now if the colors have significance.  Ed had visited Atlanta on business, and had gone to see the Stone Mountain monument which has carvings of 3 confederate generals (Lee, Jackson, Davis) on horseback. He brought me back the tee shirt as a "trip gift."

Until the other day, I had never bothered to ask myself or anyone about the monument.  I had not known that it was a monument to these three Confederates, who were enemies of the Union.. They supported slavery, and they fought against freedom and equality for black Americans.  But I ignorantly wore the black tee shirt to the gym.

Today we Americans are considering whether we should have public emblems and monuments honoring confederate soldiers and leaders ANYwhere in our country.  Mississippi decided THIS WEEK to remove the confederate part of their State flag.  Wow - more than 150 years after the South lost the Civil War!  And some Southerners STILL want to keep the flag, and the monuments.

Well, my tee shirt was a gift that I've been wearing - UNKNOWINGLY supporting the confederacy - for more than 20 years.  I'm sure that some have seen it and wondered why I would wear it.

I wore it only because it was a gift.  When it wore out a bit, I moved it to my workout shirt stack.  People at the gym likely saw it, but no one ever said anything.  Maybe they wondered why I would wear it.

I cycle everything:  socks, belts, shoes, towels.... EVERYthing.  I'd like the things I own to wear out evenly.  So, I wash, dry and fold my gym workout clothes, and I put them at the bottom of the stack.  That way, I'll pick & wear my clothes evenly.

So 2 days ago, I noticed that the "GEORGIA'S STONE MOUNTAIN" tee shirt was next.  I quickly grabbed it and a pair of scissors, and I cut the image of Lee, Davis and Stonewall right through their faces.

Then I rolled them up into a ball and tossed them into my trash can.  Where they belong.  That felt both right and good.

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(Didn't do much today; falling asleep now)