T-shirt #162: Cobra Kai (#2)

This shirt, which I believe I got at a Newbury Comics, is not the only Cobra Kai shirt I have (see: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-shirt-58-cobra-kai-strike-first.html). The funny thing about this shirt is that a few years ago without knowing it, my friend Carl got himself the same shirt. Then one Sunday I walked into the Beacon Hill Pub wearing it, and found Carl sitting at his usual spot wearing the same exact shirt. Of course our friend Scott had a field day with this, and I couldn’t stop laughing about the coincidence.

I wore it today because it is the release of the remake of the classic Karate Kid movie. As a writer, remakes always have me saying “Ugh” and “wtf” and “Seriously?”. I really couldn’t believe it when I heard they were remaking this movie. It had such perfect casting, great quotes, memorable scenes, and a killer 80s soundtrack.

I took my “Little Brother” to Newbury Comics today because he had never been to one. While he was in awe of all the action figures, video games, and toys (just like I always am!), one of the Newbury Comics employees told me he really liked my shirt. I explained my blog to him, and he pointed me in the direction of a manager who hopefully will want to hook me up with some donated T’s from Newburys…I’ll keep you posted!

My one last task associated with this shirt will be dropping off the Karate Kid DVD for my nephew. He mentioned to my brother that he wanted to see the new one, and I will not let that happen without him seeing the original first.

Again, if you don’t know what the shirt is referring to, here’s the scene:

Have a great weekend, and please, DO NOT see the Karate Kid remake. I will burn you a copy of the original if you want! Wax on, wax off!

T-shirt #161: I BLEED Black & Gold

I thought this shirt (another donation from www.chowdaheadz.com, thanks guys!) would be appropriate to wear for mourning the end of another hockey season, and another team not from Boston hoisting The Cup over their heads. I was wondering if Chara was watching the game last night, and what he might have been thinking. Then today, I started writing him a letter…

Dear Zdeno,

My name is Dave McGrath and I bleed Black and Gold. I have been a Bruins fan my whole life, and The B’s are something that are part of the glue to my family. My parents are the two biggest Bruins fans I know, and my mother is the person I turn to whenever I have a hockey-related question. At one game she took a puck to the chin (which required stitches) and refused to go to the hospital until the game was over. Her first Mother’s Day was the day #4 scored his overtime goal that gave The Bruins their fourth Stanley Cup (my older brother had been born just six days earlier).

Like their love of The Bruins, my parents taught all five of their children the value of loving one another and supporting each other through everything. This played a huge role when I was 18 and was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. My family, friends, and The Bruins were a huge part in helping me get through my first few rounds of chemotherapy. My family and friends provided the love and support, and The Bruins provided a sense of normalcy (They also signed the stick pictured with me – my high school girlfriend’s brother-in-law’s father was an NHL scout and got the stick for me: I will never forget the day I was in the hospital and they brought it to me). During the start of my battle with cancer my family and I still watched every game on the edge of our seats and for those hours, cancer wasn’t on my mind. I proudly wore my “Canadiens SUCK!” shirt (http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-61-canadiens-suck.html ) in the hospital, and couldn’t believe it when the B’s swept the Hated Habs in the second round. Although the Black and Gold would eventually fall to Mighty Mario and the Penguins, they provided a much needed distraction for me and my family that year. I am glad to report that my family’s support of the Bruins has since been added to with my brother’s kids, so the McGrath bloodline will continue to spill Black and Gold for another generation.

Another thing that got me through cancer was visualization. Every time I got chemo, I imagined the drugs flowing through my veins, up into my brain, and attacking the tumor. My images were pretty vicious, and I knew the cancer really didn’t have a chance. The doctors originally said I would need chemotherapy and radiation, but after my last round of chemo they said something like “We don’t know why, but you don’t need radiation.” – No argument from me. I have been cancer free now for over 17 years, and am lucky enough to have a job that lets me work with cancer patients in treatment (I work at American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in Worcester). One thing cancer helped teach me was that the most important thing in life is the people you have in yours. I really, really, really want to see The Bruins win The Cup, but I wouldn’t trade my family and friends for any number of consecutive Bruins Stanley Cup Championships.

As I was watching The Blackhawks lift The Cup over their heads last night, I was thinking of my family and the amount of joyful tears that we would share if we got to see you do that, Zdeno…I almost cry just thinking of it. Were you watching it, Z? Can you imagine what it would be like? I assure you if you want it, imagine it, and believe it, it will happen. You and the B’s are a constant source of inspiration and joy for me and my family, and for that I thank you. We are all now counting the days until October, and I wish you the best in the coming season.

Always to Bleed Black and Gold,

Dave

T-shirt #160: WALTHAM

I got this one at Tricon Sports in Lexington (they do a great job customizing hockey jerseys) right before I moved out of Waltham. I lived at the pictured apartment from September 1997 until the end of March 2003, and have many memories associated with it. Some that come to mind are:

* Moving out of my parents for the first time after college

* Having free cable when we moved in, and it going out right before the 1998 Olympics started

* Having the bar (and replacement bar) my roommate Drew made – we even had a TV up in the corner behind it

* Epic Halloween parties in 1998 and 1999

* Living next to a Bentley College fraternity one year

* Going to grad school

* Getting my first computer (got my Master’s Degree without ever owning one!)

* Finishing my first screenplay – I was so excited to print it out that I got pulled over on the way home from buying paper. I told the kind officer why I was in a rush, and he asked me if there were any policeman in my script – Yes, there are scenes with BC police! He let me go with a laugh and a warning

* Finally seeing one of my teams win a championship (BC hockey, 2001)

* Watching game 5 of the 1999 Red Sox-Indians Divisional Series

* Watching the Phantom Tag by Chuck Knoblaugh on Jose Offerman (see picture) in game 4 of the 1999 ALCS – I don’t remember how many swears spewed out of me, I just remember my roommate (who I didn’t know was in the other room talking to his mother on the phone) say, “Um, that was Dave. He’s watching The Red Sox.”

* Lizzy’s Ice Cream and the Compleat Gamester

* One of my favorite Waltham spots: A Kay-Bee Toys and McDonald’s next to each other (only rivaled by the comic book store next to the porn store)

* Watching the Patriots-Raiders “Snow Bowl” in 2002

* A Beanpot/Anti-Valentine’s Day Party in 2000

* Playing roller hockey on the nearby basketball courts

* Being Designated Driver for the “McGrath Y2K” van

* When a movie theatre within walking distance (The Embassy) opened

* Walking with my friend Andy to go see Episode I

* The two times there were car accidents and the apartment got hit (One time I got back from work to see the whole porch was taken off and there was police tape across our door. The other, I was watching The Simpsons (go figure), heard tires screeching, and was bumped off the chair)

* Getting my first kidney stone – I was playing the new Grand Theft Auto game and thought I must have been sitting in the wrong position. 2 minutes later I was crawling up to my roommate’s room and begging him to take me to the hospital

* Playing hockey with my friend Tim in the church parking lot across the street – I took a shot and broke one of the garage windows. One of the neighbors started yelling at me and called the cops. The officer was laughing that he had been called for such a thing, and I showed him where I lived and told him I would tell the church. Less than an hour later, there was a knock on the door. It was the church’s pastor (Father Copp, I kid you not!), and I played the Altar Boy for 10 years-Catholic School card. He then asked me why I never went to church, and I told him I went in Westboro…”Oh, St. Lukes?”…this guy knew his stuff. He told me not to worry about replacing the window, and to just be more careful.

* Taking a picture of my roommate as he left for his first date with this girl – they have been married for almost 5 years and have an awesome 3-year-old who calls me Uncle Dave

* Having a monthly “Heisman” winner that went to the roommate who got “pushed away” by the most females

* Being there the night of 9-11

* Dealing with a not-very-fair landlord when I moved out, but having my friend Carl deal with him and get me more money than my deposit

* Turning my room into a Star Wars room, regardless of the consequences

* Seeing a guy going through everything I was throwing out when I moved out – upon further inspection I noticed he was also wearing a pair of my old BC shorts and my Pearl Jam shirt

T-shirt #159: Who's your PADDY? (#2)

This shirt (a gift from my awesome cousin Katie) would have made it into my St. Patrick’s Day week of Irish-themed shirts, but I already had one that said the same thing: http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-71-whos-your-paddy.html. It was the closest thing I had to a Celtics shirt , so I’m wearing it tonight for the game (which will no doubt be on the widescreen TV in the Hope Lodge basement).

The first Celtics shirt I remember having (Lindsey, you’ll appreciate my memory here) was a #00 for “The Chief” I got at a Summer Fair in the early 80s. My siblings and I all used to get the Stop and Shop “Let’s Do It Celtics!” and “Do It Again, Celtics!” shirts (I think that’s what they said anyway!). Then, I’m pretty sure I had one of the “Green Stuff” shirts they made that went along with the Celtics scratch tickets.

I wouldn’t really call myself a Celtics Fan. I’ve only been to one game, but was lucky enough to see the 1986-1987 team play at The (one and only) Garden (thanks, Dad!). I saw Bird, McHale, Parish (The Chief), Ainge, and Johnson (D.J.). It was March 21, and they beat The Sonics, 112-108 (This I know because my dad took pictures and cut out the newspaper article…thanks to my mom for looking this up for me). In my first 13 years, The Celtics made it to 7 Finals and won 5 NBA Championships. I got excited every time they won (and did in 2008 as well), but the pain when they lost didn’t compare to when The Bruins or Sox lost. I didn’t follow them during the season like I followed hockey and baseball.

Still, I will be watching the game tonight and cheering along with the Hope Lodge guests. I may not be a true Celtics fan, but Boston sports are definitely a part of me. GO C’s, BEAT L.A.!!!

PS- Why is it pronounced “Sell-tics” and not “Kell-tics”?

T-shirt #158: GHOSTBUSTERS

My decision to get this shirt (another Target special) started a while ago. It was the fall of my 5^th grade, and Ghostbusters had finally found its way to The Flick in Westboro, MA. Even though it would end up being the #2 box office movie of that year (Second only to Beverly Hills Cop, amazing to see what it beat out: http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1984&p=.htm), my brothers had given it a great review and that was good enough for me. One unlucky mother (I believe it was Todd Demma’s?) ended up driving a station wagon full of ten-year-olds down to the theatre, and for the first time I watched a movie in the front row (not a choice, it was the only row we could all fit in). I will admit now that I did not get all of the jokes in the movie, but I knew (like Star Wars) this movie was not going to be one that I just saw once and forgot about.

Second only to Fletch, Ghostbusters became one of my favorite comedies to watch, watch some more, memorize, and repeat with friends at both appropriate and inappropriate times. In the years after its VHS release into high school, I must have watched it at least 20 times with my brothers, cousin, and friend Mike. There are so many great quotes from the movie it is hard to pick out favorites. Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman is hilarious in every one of scenes. Of course, the pre-teen and teen Dave was a big fan of Venkman’s line: “Yes it’s true…this man has no dick.” (Okay, the “adult” Dave too!) Here are other great Ghostbusters quotes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087332/quotes.

In addition to loving Ghostbusters and long before I saw the firehouse (pictured) they used on a “TV and Movie Tour of New York” I went on with my younger sister, something ghostly happened to me when I was a sophomore in high school. In true Griswold fashion, my family had to change our April vacation plans when we found out (after driving all the way down) Busch Gardens in Virginia was closed during the week at that time of year. One of our alternative stops was Colonial Williamsburg and even though I wasn’t too psyched to be there, I did enjoy reading the book (see picture) The Ghosts of Williamsburg. I read the book as we went house to house and (much to my younger sister’s displeasure) announced to my family which houses were reported as haunted. One particular house we went into had reports of a ghost appearing at the end of the bed in the room that was at the top of the stairs. I took (with my Polaroid) a picture of the end of the bed and although it was all the same color, the wood in the wall looks like it is stained a lighter color in the shape of a person. Who knows what the real cause is, but I have my theory and the picture freaked me out.

I went about 15 years without having another ghostly encounter (but still watching and quoting Ghostbusters), but things I couldn’t explain started happening in my Westboro apartment in the fall of 2005. There were devices that turned on by themselves (TV, iPod dock, oven buzzer, lights), my guitar feeling like it was pushed out of my hands, an orb floating across the room, secure framed posters falling down, unexplained sounds like a huge bird flapping its wings in the kitchen (one that I am glad to say I wasn’t the only one to witness), and the temperature dropping dramatically in isolated areas. Because things began happening after I moved into a different bedroom in the apartment, I asked my former roommate if “anything weird” happened when she was in that room. Her reply was, “Oh, is the ghost turning things on and off?” Information I would have liked to know earlier! After I started sharing these phenomena with my neighbor across the hall, she gave me an add for the Central Massachusetts Paranormal Society that said they would come investigate such things. I called them up, they did an investigation, and I wrote an article (seen in picture) about the whole thing. See their results here: http://www.freewebs.com/cmponsline/CaseFile060713.pdf

Believe what you want, but I know what happened.

Although a few Hope Lodge guests have reported “weird things” (alarm clocks going off when they weren’t set, towels moving from their bed to different parts of the room, a “little girl” trying to wake them up and standing at the top of the stairs), the only experiences I have had are quick shadows moving across a room out of the corner of my eye…nothing like seeing an orb or having my guitar pushed. Luckily none of the current guests have had supernatural experiences, so I am hoping they will want to watch Ghostbusters with me tonight. I have experience with them, and I really ain’t afraid of no ghost…

PS- “The flowers are STILL standing!”

T-shirt #157: RELAY FOR LIFE (Survivor)

This shirt is from last year’s Relay for Life. When my sister Carolyn asked me how you get a purple shirt, I laughed and told her, “You just have to beat cancer.”

The best part of Relay for me is taking the “Survivor’s Lap” with all of the Hope Lodge guests, past and present. I get to celebrate the lives of those I work and have worked with as we walk around to the crowd’s applause. It’s really freakin’ great (I know, I’m a poet).

Another part of Relay I really enjoy is the luminaries lining the track. My mother always buys one and puts my name on it and I always make ones for my friends Justin and Danny, who lost their battles with cancer when I was a junior in college. Last year when we were lining up the bags, I made sure the one my mom made for me was between the ones I had made for Justin and Danny. Later on during the Relay, a woman approached my boss and asked her who had put the luminary out for Justin. Deb motioned over to me and I was quickly reunited with Justin’s mother. Seriously, it felt like something out of a movie…really freakin’ amazing.

The Hope Lodge team will be participating in this year’s Relay for Life at Burncoat High in Worcester on Friday June 18^th through Saturday the 19^th. If you would like to support me and our team, you can donate here: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10National?px=7135674&pg=personal&fr_id=23379

If you would like to specifically donate to Hope Lodge and my “Skating for Hope” fundraiser (It’s going to be just like Relay, but on ice, and I plan to skate for all 24 hours), you can do that here:

T-shirt #156: The Big Bang Theory (Sheldon, Bazinga!)

With many nights and channels full of reality shows I will never ever care about, I was happy when I finally discovered The Big Bang Theory. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about two geeky physicists who live across the hall from a hot waitress/actress wannabe. Although some of the science jargon is complicated, it is hilarious to watch scientists argue over both theory and which superhero would win in a fight. There are also there many Star Wars references and “dork trying to pick up beauty” scenes to keep me laughing. My favorite character (pictured on the shirt) is Sheldon, whose anal-socially awkward ways are played perfectly by Jim Parsons. Always struggling to get a grasp on sarcasm, Sheldon uses the word “Bazinga!” when he attempts to make a joke. He also wears many shirts that could be found in (or added to by) the Dave McGrath collection. If you want to check it out yourself, here it is: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/

And you can watch these clips here: