On Nov. 3, 2007, I received a T-shirt. I still have it. I’m sure that you can tell that I feel like it was a significant event. Like many of you, I have a lot of T-shirts. If I were to count mine, I’m guessing that I’d come up with the number 30’ish, or 40’ish – okay, maybe 50’ish. Or… it’s really hard to say, and I don’t intend to count them right now.

So, let’s get back to that shirt from November of 2007. That shirt commemorates my involvement in the Butch Cassidy 10K run/5K walk which went from Springdale, Utah to the ghost town of Grafton. My only daughter was 6 months pregnant with her first child at the time. She invited my wife and I to join in the “fun.” (And it was fun!) I was 55 years old and felt every year of that age.

Some of you are wondering whether I did the run or the walk. I will tell you that I finished in 14th place among all the male competitors. I will also tell you that I beat the 82-year-old guy by about five minutes. The winner, a 16-year-old, beat me by about 12 minutes. I will now tell you that I was entered in the Men’s 5K Walk.

Running for me, in the last 15 years or so, has been reserved for just a few special circumstances. Here are some examples: 1) Attempting to get to a connecting flight in a big airport 2) Getting to the restroom “in time” 3) Running away from bears, mountain lions, squirrels, skunks and raccoons

Speaking of bears, I know a grown-up, youngish man who recently took an out of town grown-up, youngish woman up Manti Canyon to see the sights. As they were driving up, she asked about animals; and in particular, she asked if there were any bears around the area.

The response was that there are a few bears on the mountain, but we never worry about them. If fact, he said, as he totally discounted the need for concern, “I’ve never seen one up here in my whole life.” Guess what they saw on the canyon road a few minutes later? Yep, one of those never ever seen bears.

But, back to the shirt. That shirt means something to me. It’s tangible evidence of something I took part in. It’s memorabilia (say that word fast three times).

If you’ve ever wondered, like I have (just now), what the definition of memorabilia is, here you go, courtesy of Merriam-Webster: “things that are remarkable and worthy of remembrance” – “things that stir recollection or are valued or collected for their association with a particular field or interest.”

Weekend before last, I was part of the “support crew” for family and friends who competed in the Leadville 100 (Mountain Bike Race). It’s a grueling, very high elevation race for about 1,500 racers, from all over the country and world, who have to qualify for the event held in Colorado.

It’s advertised as the “Race Across the Sky.” It ranks as one the dozen hardest races in the world. Famous cyclist Matt Shriver once said “this race makes grown men cry.” Our group seemed to confirm that.

My daughter, Sally, now a mother of three, competed for the first time. Others in our group were returning for repeat performances. Why? They have gotten the “bug.” It’s in their systems.

All of our “family” of competitors “buckled” in the race. Buckling is a racing finisher verb in Leadville. That means they finished in under 12 hours and received a special belt buckle for their achievement.

Finishing under 9 hours earns a bigger buckle. My oldest son, in his 5th race, just missed that one. All finishers receive a medal. T-shirts, of course, were there as well.

The finish line was an emotional moment for everyone. The blood, sweat, tears, cramps and nausea – (literally for many) all combine for a phenomenal feeling of “I did it!’ As a father and friend, I was so proud of all of our racers.

There are some voices in articles and posts online who take the position that T-shirts, medals, and “swag” generally are of little meaning and trivialize the purity of the physical efforts in races and sports competitions.

I beg to differ. The woman I talked to after the bike race, who finished with the time of 12 hours and two minutes would beg to differ as well. She so wanted to “buckle” in the race. She went home with a finisher’s medal, but no belt buckle.

Insignificant T-shirts can become significant. Belt buckles and medals become personally important and valuable. Boy Scout badges, Girl Scout badges, military medals, school tokens and honors, memorabilia of all types, become meaningful.

Certainly, the experience, the work, the achievement, the time and effort spent are the meat of the matter. But the tokens that commemorate the experiences and events are valuable. They’re symbols of remembrances and memory. I don’t think they’re to be discounted.

And so, I’m keeping my 2007 T-shirt. It reminds me of a good day, even though it doesn’t remind me of a lot of training and blood, sweat and tears. Everyone has their own connections with keepsakes.

Consider your own attitudes to memorabilia Sanpete. You might have more feelings than you thought for T-shirts and bling. — Merrill

Newsletter