[DFT] Fw: [ChivalryToday] The Noble T-Shirt

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott A. Farrell" <scott at ChivalryToday.com>
To: <ChivalryToday at YahooGroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 4:59 PM
Subject: [ChivalryToday] The Noble T-Shirt


The Noble T-Shirt
By Scott Farrell
(c)2002 Shining Armor Enterprises
www.ChivalryToday.com

During my lunch hour I like to get away from my desk and go to the gym
where I can work up a sweat surrounded by people who have no idea what
I do the other 23 hours of the day. Everyone in the fitness center
seems to appreciate being able to briefly shed their public façades.
Saving the occasional smile or nod in passing, we're all complete
strangers with a common agenda of physical fitness.

The other day, however, I was roused out of my quiet shell of gymnasium
anonymity by a group of young men who were sharing the weight-lifting
area. There were six of them taking turns on several adjoining pieces
of equipment, but what caught my attention was their attire rather than
their activity.

There seemed to be some sort of contest taking place to see which of
the fellows could wear the most offensive T-shirt. One depicted a hand
with an upraised middle finger. Another displayed a grotesque cartoon
of an unnaturally curvaceous woman. A third expressed a definite
opinion of a particular sports team with three large words, two of
which were " ... the Raiders." (I'll let your imagination run wild as
to what the first word was.)

They weren't being noisy, rude or obnoxious; for all I knew, these six
gentlemen might have been college teachers, stock brokers, physicians,
gourmet chefs or computer programmers. Yet with just a glance my
opinion of them was diminished by nothing more than their choice of
clothing. I had to wonder if they would have selected those shirts if
they thought their parents or their business colleagues might have
observed them during their work-out. I wondered if they would want the
image of themselves in the gym that afternoon to be preserved for
posterity and shown to their wives on their wedding day, or to their
children during their formative years. ("Daddy, I learned to read
today! (Bleep) the Raiders!")

Freedom of expression is a wonderful thing, and these observations
should not be interpreted to imply that someone wearing an
in-your-face, extreme-attitude, grunge-youth T-shirt cannot be a
completely gracious and honorable individual. This is just a gentle
reminder that the way we present ourselves reflects upon our sense of
chivalry, just as our words and actions do.

Some of the most meaningful demonstrations of our core values are the
ones we make when we think nobody is paying attention. A modern knight
should always be a noble example of Chivalry Today, whether dressed in
a suit of shining armor, or in a T-shirt at the gym.

= = = = = =

Readers are permitted and encouraged to share this article with
friends, family and colleagues via other e-mail lists, discussion
groups and on-line forums (please include all titles and attributions).
All material is copyright 2002 Scott Farrell and Shining Armor
Enterprises. Visit us on-line to learn more about the Code of Chivalry
in the modern world at www.ChivalryToday.com .


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