“I laugh because I must not cry, that is all, that is all. ”― Abraham Lincoln

If we could peek out from behind the curtains of time, from 2007, thirteen years ago, away from the ongoing war in Iraq, the great recession sinking its teeth in, topping headlines: Angelina Jolie adopting another child, shootings at Virginia Tech, first responders to 9/11 showing signs of illnesses due toxic dust, and Paris Hilton- whose return to jail brought extra butter on our popcorn … would we be surprised by where we are now?

Would our younger, assumingly more naïve selves, laugh at the idea of a reality T.V. host becoming president? Could we imagine that we would be fighting a worldwide pandemic by increasing cleanliness practices, socially distancing ourselves – staying at home, and looking to local government on how to have basic consideration for others?  Could we imagine ourselves sitting on our quarantine-couches, tuning in to the next meme of people fighting over the last roll of toilet paper?

What would it mean to watch our extreme sequel; the economy is taking a nosedive, unemployment skyrocketing, small businesses crumbling, bartenders unable to afford their own goods, and our heroes are in fact those who were invisible before – those who, all along, had been fighting to make ends meet at minimum wage jobs. Those who are now dutifully showing up to those same jobs as infrastructure essentials, while still struggling to make ends meet. How would we feel about ourselves, if we saw that these people couldn’t afford the medical bills that would follow them for years, should they get sick? Would we see ourselves as starring characters in the Twilight Zone, while politicians spew regurgitated word salad, broadcasted from their mansions and golf courses, about grandpa needing to sacrifice himself on the altar of the DOW Jones? What about the supply shortages within our medical community, which will eventually, unavoidably, affect everyone in the country as we watch these heroes succumb to illness, even death? We watch our older, wiser, selves sitting at home, doing our part NOT to contribute to the “confirmed cases-hospitalized-death toll” graphics, while doctors and nurses take up arms (in this case IVs, ventilators, and paracetamol/Tylenol) and place themselves in the line of a sputum laden firing squad, without proper protection … would we see wisdom, or absurdity?

Tiptoeing through the crises, old and new, the absurdity sinks ever deeper as no one can escape the amount of confusion and desperation over Covid-19. It is pouring from our friends and families, news outlets, and social media. Anxiety, fear, helplessness, a sense of it all being too overwhelming are, unfortunately, the norm, spurred on by sensationalistic reporting and contradictory leaders … however, we have been here before; we have overcome, and we will again. We the people are one organism; and we see our most fruitful recoveries when we remember that we are in this together. We’ve seen some of the worst in humanity; now, in some small ways we can show that we are better. Fight the helplessness, and the anxiety and fear will subside, even if just a little. Take a deep breath from the sanctuary of your home, remember your neighbors, tip your grocery store clerks, sanitize your mailbox handles, treat yourself to a bit of take-out from your favorite small restaurants, leave out small gifts of water or TP for the delivery driver who drops off your lifeline packages, buy gift-certificates from your local small businesses to use once something that resembles normalcy returns, and laugh – find a reason to laugh.

At The H.C. Custom Shirtworks, the barrel of monkeys that is our family owned business strives for glorious humor, from the grotesque to the punny, through dark sarcastic brutal giggles that resound somewhere in the back of your throat, to the indulging tee-hees of dad jokes … we even include the exaggerated eye-rolls at no extra charge. To quote Joss Whedon: “Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.” It has always been our chosen method of survival, our bread and butter, and how we hope to give back to our community.

We are offering these shirts at the sale price of $15 and donating 50% of all sales to #GetUsPPE. Please look into this group- From their site www.getusppe.org “A coalition of physicians, scientists, engineers, technologists, and concerned citizens building the nation’s largest platform for grassroots PPE donations.

If you choose not to purchase of a shirt, please consider donating to this amazing cause. https://getusppe.org/donate/