Party Bird

I have attended many private parties over my lifetime. So far, there was only one for which free shirts were created. Maybe I am going to the wrong parties, but I find the company of good people more enjoyable than any free shirt.

Joshypalooza was a large summertime Saturday party formed by combining of two parties that Donor Josh* and Donor, Receiver, & Donor Ian* were separately planning. I had a good time hanging out with a couple of social circles I was part of along with some other people that I did not know and would never see again. There was campfire in the back along with food and drink up front including a beer bong tube poking out through the crotch of a cardboard cut-out of Leslie Nielsen ⇒; I forget if anyone drank from it or not.

Enumerating happiness can be harder than listing bad stuff. The big plus was Donor, Receiver, & Proofreader Dale* making a surprise appearance. Having conversations with him and my other friends was fun to live but boring for to read about. I imagine that anyone who has had the experience of good conversation can understand.

Unfortunately, a couple of minor bad things occurred. The police were called over a noise complaint lodged by a neighbor. After a promise was made to keep it down, the cops let the party go on. Some dude named Kevin bent the rim of Josh’s basketball hoop out of frustration after being shot down by every female at the party.

They Come To Snuff The Rooster

A previous version of this shirt dossier elicited negative reactions among people that I know personally. I thought that I was just writing about a party where I had a fun time. I guess I should have kept my keyboard on lockdown, but doing so would deprive the the reader of the truth.

A cover of “Rooster” originally by written and performed by Alice In Chains ⇒ executed by a non-donor on guitar and vocals along with Ian on mandolin was awkward to watch at best. The spirit of the song was completely off. A slowish song about being shot at in the Vietnam war should not be performed happily and sped up.

Being less than positive ensured that my personal noise complaint would reverberate throughout time. A member of the non-donor’s family confronted me about my ideas that no matter how highly one thinks of their singing ability because that places the singer above the song. The correct notes or relatively close notes should be played on the guitar rather than adding unrelated flourishes. I stood behind my comments. Ian did not like what he perceived to be an attack on his musical ability. I apologized for making him feel that way, and clarified that he had the chops unlike the non-donor. Ian told me that he was not familiar with the song whatsoever; he was simply playing off of the notes being given to him by the non-donor.

Delayed Gratification

It would not be until a couple of weeks after the event took place that Josh provided me with a copy of the shirt celebrating his party. I had a broken vehicle so I was unable to meet up with Josh.

Josh had a lack of transfer paper with which to produce another copy. This shirt is the only one in the Free Shirt Archive that has an iron-on design. I fear that if this shirt fit, the design would be lost over time considering the fragility of transfer paper.

Small

This donation was made before I stopped accepting small shirts. I am too big to ever think of fitting into this shirt, and have thus never worn it. Nonetheless, the sentimental value I have towards a Saturday night with my friends means that I do not intend on parting with this shirt.