Do I really need a t-shirt from Oatman, az?

When we started this journey some three years ago, one of the very first things weee were faced with is the need to downsize.  And I mean that in the broadest interpretation of the work that you can think of.  Overall living space, storage, number of dishes and glasses, knives and forks, even shoes and socks.  The old adage, or so we were told, was, if you buy something new, you have to throw out something old.  Ok, we can live with that…until you are faced with the dilemma of getting rid of your favorite, and I mean favorite, t-shirt.

And that brings up another subject.  What do you collect, acquire, gather….to document your travels?  Postcards, banners (I did that as a kid, and had a room full of these triangular shaped objects all over my walls)…stickers, medals or medallions….or t-shirts. 

With t-shirts, you announce it proudly where you have been.  It says nothing about your experience at that place, just that you felt connected enough to need to purchase a walking billboard of your visit.  And did you know that you can now buy destination t-shirts at Walmart, without ever having visited said location? 

And what do you do with an ever growing collection of t-shirts??  Cause if you abide by the original rule of something new replaces something old, then you will only ever have a finite number of t-shirts…never a complete record of your travels.  And how do you decide which to remove from the collection? 

So I return to the original question.  Do I really need a t-shirt from Oatman, AZ???  Is Oatman any more important, have more impact that the one t-shirt I am going to have to lose to make room for the new one??

This train of thought started one day in the grocery store, when I passed a very nice man wearing a t-shirt, that, very dramatically announced, that he, or maybe some acquaintance, had visited, stayed or formed a spiritual relationship with Oatman, AZ.  I questioned whether I would be able to decide which of the many places we have visited in the last three years was impactful enough in my life to warrant a coveted spot in the t-shirt collection.  And what would happen when the time came for it to be replaced by the next destination of importance. 

And if that were the case, why do I need a t-shirt from Oatman, AZ in the first place?

Question to ponder as we wander.