Mac In Awe

Mackinac Island is an 5 square mile island that has a namesake resort town and namesake state park. The land is located in between the Arrowhead and the Mitten peninsulas of Michigan surrounded by the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Huron. The name is pronounced like “mac in awe”.

Two battles were won at Fort Mackinac by the British during the War of 1812 ⇒. The 1812 battle is more accurately considered a British siege or an American surrender. The American attempt to take back the fort was far more aggressive than the effort to defend it, but nonetheless proved insufficient in the 1814 battle.

Another feature of Mackinac Island that is not alluded by this shirt is the Grand Hotel ⇒. This hotel is famous for having lodged famous people of the Twentieth Century. Additionally, the hotel claims to have the longest porch in the world. I was unable to find what is considered to be the record holding porch in a Guinness Book of World Records that I had handy, but I will continue to investigate.

The Image

The scene depicted on this shirt is among my favorite throughout the linksfsa because of the absurdity of the idea and that the words and images are coherent between each other. A sweating man (“The Man”) in a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes is exerting all of his effort towards pedalling a tandem bicycle. His tandem partner is a donkey (“The Donkey”) that is eating fudge rather than helping to pedal. In the distance, a uniformed santitation worker (“The Worker”) glares at the bicyclists with disdain as he is shoveling the consequences of eating too much fudge.

This whole scene raises a number of questions. Why does The Man put up with the insolent behavior of the Donkey? Why not take a break so The Man can get his energy back and The Donkey can finish eating fudge? Is The Man’s vacation ruined by having the pedal The Donkey all over the island? Is The Donkey employing The Man to pedal for him? If The Donkey has employed The Man and can also afford the fudge, why did the Donkey not pay for a horse drawn carriage? If The Man bought the fudge for The Donkey? Why does The Worker stay at his job? Why does the worker look at The Man and The Donkey as if they were necessarily responsible when there are many other horses around that could have done wrong?

Many of the potential answers are less than preferable. The Donkey’s greed and apathy towards others has a part in causing to the misery of the other men in the image. The Worker is not being professional, though he is being honestly selfish, by not focusing on his job because he is too concerned about “sending a message” with his glare. The Man is doing the right thing, but is being taken advantage of for doing so.

Fudge You

The donkey’s choice of snack is not happenstance. Fudge is popularly associated with the island due in part to the multiple small fudge businesses throughout the resort town, and in other part to the tourist trap nature of Mackinac Island. There is even a Mackinac Island Fudge Festival ⇒.

I have seen Mackinac Island Fudge referred to and also used as a flavor name. This usage, as far as I understand, is evocative rather than taxonomic. There is simply a competitive fudge environment in the area rather than a specific type of fudge that is only made on the island.

No Cars Go

The second main point that ian informed me of upon giving me this shirt was that private cars are banned on the island. Indeed, non-emergency and non-construction motorized vehicles have not been allowed to drive on the island since 1898 due to early cars frightening the horses of the city ⇒. The legal choices that The Man and The Donkey are bicycling, each going on foot, or riding in a horse-drawn carriage. Even roller-skating and roller-blading are illegal in parts of the town.

M-185 is a state highway that runs along the perimeter of the island. The road was built in the 1900s century after the ban on private vehicles was instituted, and the road became a state highway in the 30s. That designation continues, thus making the road the only state highway in America without passenger traffic.

The first main point was that Ian thought that I would like the shirt, and that the person he was shopping with thought this shirt was too dumb to donate. I assert that he was correct in his assessment. The other person was free to have their own feelings about the quality of this shirt, but should not have attempted to impose their idea of what they think that I should think.