A tale of two t-shirts

A tale of two t-shirts

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times–“

Wait a minute, that’s not right. That’s A Tale of Two Cities, not A Tale of Two T-shirts…sorry about that. 😉

Okay, this one is honestly a bit weird for me.

nluvk3 in the Amazon Kindle community started this thread:

Bufo Calvin Fan Club

It was just a bit of a goofy thing saying that there should be a fan club with me with t-shirts and everything.

I do try to help people out on that forum and keep it fun. I wasn’t going to comment in the thread at all, but somebody asked me to do it, and I eventually posted this:

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nluvk3, thank you for starting this thread. I’m honored and flattered…and didn’t respond right away, because I’m a bit embarrassed to do that.

When I first got to the forum, there were people who were helpful, friendly, and funny. I’ve always appreciated that. Being here has made me a better person, and you are all part of that. 

I always strive to make myself better, and I hope I have here. I used to engage more with things that were just a matter of opinion. Even when I disagree with someone, that doesn’t mean I need to make an effort to change that person’s opinion…I could be wrong, and we both might be right (or wrong 🙂 ).

One of the things I love about the internet is that we need not be judged by our intrinsic qualities. We are judged by what we say and do…not by our genders, or ages, or relationships, or geography…unless we choose to do that.

For that reason, I know that what people like in this thread is not who I am, but my approach, and that’s a good thing to me. I’d rather that t-shirts could celebrate that…if you think it’s patience, or civility, or clarity, or whatever you perceive it to be. 

I hear sometimes about the negative influence that some think the media can have on those who enjoy it. I’ve wondered why we don’t hear an equal amount about the positive it could have. I’m going to leave this with Doc Savage’s oath (which I believe to be in the public domain, although the books aren’t**). I do try to follow it:

* Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it

* Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice

* Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage. Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do

* Let me do right to all, and wrong no man

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Well, eventually, somebody did make a t-shirt…two people, actually:

Team Bufo

Bufo Calvin Fan Club

Now, I want to be clear…I had nothing to do with these shirts. 🙂 I don’t get any money from them and there is no official fan club.

I did do the “try to be famous” thing a while back…that meant too much time away from the family, honestly. I had to go odd places at odd times…I’m not looking for that cycle again. I wouldn’t mind if a news source asked me a question once in a while about the Kindle, but I like writing better. I can do that with my Significant Other in the same room, and that’s a good thing. 🙂

Speaking of my SO, who is very supportive, does find the t-shirt thing a bit strange. My SO said, when someone offered to send us a couple of the t-shirts, that is sounded stalkerish…a way to get my address. Yes…because nothing says “stalker bait” like being a blogger…and writing about books. 😉  If you disagree with that assessment, don’t mention it…seriously, don’t, it would creep out my SO more. 🙂

It was also interesting to me that they both used

http://www.cafepress.com/

That’s a site where you can design your own items…t-shirts, hats, mugs, and so on.

I use a similar site:

http://www.zazzle.com/

It’s been great for family gifts, and I’d even forgotten, I do have a t-shirt there for this blog:

http://www.zazzle.com/i_love_my_kindle_tshirt-235875175878511008

I also have a store:

http://www.zazzle.com/bufocalvin

It’s actually more for my offspring. We thought it might be a way for my kid (now an adult) to make a few extra bucks, but we’ve almost never sold anything. 🙂 There’s only one obscure trivia reference shirt where we’ve sold a couple, I think.

Hm…I see the ILMK t-shirt isn’t in that “store”…I’ll have to see if I can log into the site and change that. 🙂

I don’t think all those election 2008 shirts are ever going to sell, either. 😉

So, if you see somebody wearing one of those Cafe Press t-shirts, it isn’t me…but I don’t think you’ll see anybody. 😉

**Why would Doc Savage’s oath not be still under copyright and the books would? The oath was part of a fan club, as I understand it, and not published (or used) in the actual adventures. Copyrights had to be renewed back then, and the odds are that the copyright for the oath wasn’t renewed.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.