Which of these is not the same as the others?
I have a battered, cruddy t-shirt, worn down by time and the tears of those who toiled for The Whidbey Examiner while she was still still an independent newspaper.
The hole across the collar is getting larger, and, since the shirt itself is getting thinner after several years of wear and washing, it’s about to go from a slight annoyance to full-on disgrace.
I should probably throw it away, or burn it.
And yet, I have held on to it, since it was the last connection to a time before the Canucks swept down from Moosejaw and bought up The Examiner, putting a monopoly on Whidbey’s three papers.
Having written a lot of stories for the rag — my weekly video column alone ran, without missing a week, for 15 years — I wasn’t thrilled to see it sold off to Black Press, becoming just another small line item in a vast global media empire’s business report.
But, we’re not here to rehash that.
Instead, I’m here to show off the unexpected gift that showed up in my mailbox yesterday.
Having seen a photo of my much-battered Examiner t-shirt, Eric at Ashley’s Design (http://www.ashleysdesign.com/) in Oak Harbor decided, on a whim, to print up some shirts for Coupeville Sports, using a similar design.
It was a nice, unexpected surprise.
As this blog careens, slightly out-of-control, towards its two-year anniversary on Aug. 16, maybe it’s time to put on a new t-shirt and fully discard the past.
Who wants to make smores cooked over the embers of a beat-up Examiner t-shirt?
Anyone … anyone … Bueller … Bueller?
Coupeville Sports 