By Steve Stricker
Columnist

Ah, Fall and my wardrobe choices have more than doubled! Reviving my column from years ago, after wearing a coat and tie every day for over 21 years working at Ole Miss and SEMO (Southeast Missouri State University), when retired, vowed to never wear a tie again or dress “nice” (ironed shirt, khakis) and most everyday just wear T’s with cargo shorts, pants, or jeans, arriving at St. John’s over an hour early for Mass, a light windbreaker in the cold AC.

Sweating buckets this past Saturday, 88 degrees, sun, drippy humid, trimming, mowing yard, before a refreshing shower, grabbed the back of my “20lb” sweat-soaked favorite Ole Miss Baseball T-shirt adhered to my back, and being old and thread bare, fabric gave way (rip) and another beloved T made the historic progression from new to my rag bin which I don’t know what to do with.

Most of my T’s are from the Ole Miss Bookstore, Athletics, Graduate School, School of Business MBA,
Alumni Association etc. and accumulated from SEMO), St. John’s Catholic Church, University Sports
Medicine, Corner Stone/Endurance, NMRC, Army, Volvo, KIA, MG, (hmmm…need a Land Rover T),
Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Purdue, 2013 Masters, Thacker Mountain Radio, Oxford Artists Guild,
Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, St. Louis Cardinals, et al and tell a colorful story of my life….

In summer when most seen, I wear my newest T’s – navy, black, or white on hot humid and high dew
point days because I sweat and it isn’t as obvious with these colors. On lower humidity/dew point days, I
wear my lighter gray, green, blue, tan, brown, yellow, cardinal, berry, orange, teal, and red.

When I wear a sleeved shirt and a T under it, or in fall and winter when it’s cooler with a very light Ole Miss windbreaker, jacket, heavier coat – choice of T, doesn’t matter as long as the color and neck is right…I can’t stand a neck that is stretched and too large!

My long sleeve T’s are worn on chilly/cold days under a light Ole Miss Windbreaker or, if dates are decent,
humidity etc. okay, by themselves.

As my T’s wear, get older, necks stretch, dates absurd – I wear these around the house, and when these obtain holes etc., I wear them to work on my cars, mow the yard etc.

Then there are my T’s that I seldom wear because they are sentimental. For years, my awesome family gathered at Easter for a sort of “Reunion” at two of my three older sisters in New Madrid, MO (married two brothers) where on Friday we would meet and greet at Paula’s with a keg and fish fry, and Saturday at Pat’s to play Wiffle Ball all day!

At this event, we would select a theme, draw names for the next year as to who would be on what team, and designate a family person to design a T-shirt in multiple colors, sizes etc. for each team – quite formal!

Coming to Ole Miss as a Graphic Designer (another story) and proficient with desktop programs, I am rather proud of the T’s I designed.

And oh yeah – those dreaded labels! Manufacturers have finally begun printing their info on the fabric itself, but if there is a label and it bothers me – scissors and snip! I prefer 100% cotton T’s.

Like Janice Joplin’s great song, “Tapestry,” my T’s tell a progressive, colorful story of my life, are purposeful and loved, so – long live the T aa I live in them!

Happy Birthday to my son, Steve Striker, October 8 – my next column!
GO REBELS!!

Steve Stricker is an Oxford resident and received his Ph.D. in Counseling from Ole Miss.