When I find an article of clothing that I like, I tend to
buy it in at least two colors. My more frugal sister thinks that this is crazy,
but I figure that if you find something you like, you might as well have more
than one. Who knows when you’ll find something you like as much again? What if
something happens to the first one, and then you’ve lost your favorite shirt? I
think I’m being practical, but I also think Tina Fey and I would be besties if
only we ever met, so take that for what you will.
A few weeks ago, a friend and I were out running some errands. I had on my relatively standard uniform of black flip flops and black yoga pants as well as a new shirt from Anthropologie that I thought was so adorable and comfy. (So adorable and comfy that I bought it in two colors. I’d probably have it in three if they hadn’t gone off sale. It’s called the slouch shirt. I wasn’t going to read into that.)
After driving around for a bit, I realized I hadn’t had my morning Diet Coke (yes, morning), and I decided to pull into the gas station. My friend said that she wanted a Diet Coke, too.
I stepped into the store and picked up two Diet Cokes and a Powerade for good measure. (You can never be too hydrated on questionable beverages.)
“You’re very brave,” said the clerk.
“Huh?” I said, looking down at my hands and assuming he was concerned about how much sugar and Nutrasweet I was willing to put in my body. “Brave” also seemed like an odd word choice since I was shopping at the mini-mart, and that mini-mart was not in Pakistan.
“You’re very brave,” he said. “Your bumper sticker.”
That’s when I realized that he was referring to my Obama sticker.
In my neck of the woods, you don’t see too many Obama stickers. I think there are more leftover “W” stickers on cars than Obama/Biden pronouncements. It’s probably one of the reasons I decided to go with the bumper sticker. I am usually very anti-bumper sticker simply because I’m too lazy to use Goo Gone, but I got tired of everyone making assumptions about my political leanings. Plus, I like for visitors to know that not everyone in Alabama is conservative. We have diversity in our politics just like any other state.
“You don’t see too many of those around here,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said, really not sure what the appropriate response to that comment would be.
I left the store, got back in my car and gave my friend her Diet Coke. Since I had heard some of the comments about her Obama/Biden sticker from the 2008 race, I thought she’d enjoy my story. “I just had the weirdest encounter,” I said.
“What happened?” she said.
“The guy told me I was brave,” I said.
“Because you wore that shirt?”
Maybe I was a little too zealous in my love of the slouch shirt after all. Hopefully, my friend will like it better in blue.
