The T-Shirt

Mrs Lamb was out shopping one morning. She stopped at a small shop at the corner of the street. It was a clothes shop for children and it displayed in the window dresses, skirts, shirts and T-Shirts. In fact all things necessary for a child.

Her eyes went all over but suddenly stopped in horror at what she saw. It was a T-shirt, but on the front was the most horrifying scene. It was an axe in the middle of cutting a heart in two and blood dripping from it. It made her feel sick and a horrible feeling inside her started to grow. That feeling was fear, fear that such a thing could happen to her.

"Good Heavens," she thought, if it makes me feel like that, what does it do to the child wearing it. Perhaps he could feel like running around with an axe and cutting people up.

Well she could not believe that such a thing could be made for children and so strong was the feeling she had it made her act. She went into the shop and waited till it was empty.

There was an elderly man behind the counter who looked quite harmless. "Excuse me Sir," said Mrs Lamb politely, "could you tell me about that T-Shirt in the window?"

Just as she was going to describe it to him a gang of youths flooded into the shop, pulled all the clothes that were neatly folded out of the drawers and scattered them on the floor. They went as quickly as they came, but, what a mess was left behind.

"Kids today, they don't know how to behave, all they can do is destroy and cause trouble." Mrs Lamb said nothing but helped the old man to pick everything up and put them back in the drawers neatly folded.

When all was put back as it should be Mrs Lamb said "Perhaps I could make you a nice cup of tea, it always makes me feel better?"

He showed her the little room at the back of the shop where he had his lunch. He went back into the shop not really knowing what he was doing. Mrs Lamb found all that she needed and took out of her bag a small packet of biscuits she always carried "for emergency's. She went back into the shop with the tray and found two chairs for them to sit on.

"I don't know what this world is coming to," said Mr Brian.

"May I ask you something Mr Brian?"

"Sure," he said, "anything at all."

"Could you tell me about that T-Shirt in the window, the one with the axe on it?"

"Oh,that one, we sell a lot of that one, it's very popular with the people."

"Is it for children?" she asked, quietly.

"Why of course, I only sell children's clothes."

"But do you think its good for children to wear such things?"

"Why not, its only a T-Shirt."

"Is that what you say when you curse those children, 'It's only a word.' "

"Whatever do you mean!" he said.

"Well, explained Mrs Lamb, "you wonder where on earth children learn to behave like they do and swear like they do. They get it from us you know. They follow our example. Take for instance that T-Shirt you sell for children. Do you think it is good for them to see such violence?"

"Now look here, I don't like what your getting at here. You can't blame me for the way kids behave, how dare you!"

The abusive words that followed, Mrs Lamb would not repeat, suffice to say they were not good. But when he ran out of breath she managed to get a few words in. "If you continue to sell such things I will go to the police and have you arrested."

Mrs Lamb felt so angry she was going to go to the City Council and tell them what she thought about allowing such things. She realised it was Saturday and the Office would not be open. Well it was a good job they were closed because she would have just passed her angry feeling onto them if she had spoken then. She knew from her own experience that showing anger only passed it on to someone else and that she did not want to do. She would not help those young boys to learn in that way.

Monday morning came and Mrs Lamb was determined to something about that man. She set out to go to the Council Offices but on the way, something made her pass by the little shop. The T-Shirt was no longer in the window. She could not help herself. She went inside.

Immediately Mr Brian said, "How glad I am you came to see me, I realize now it was for my own good that you spoke. I did not understand that what I sold could affect the children so much. I had a dream that I was put in prison. Someone told me if I changed my mind about the T-Shirt and put something better into the window I would not be the cause of so much violence. I did not realize we were making our children grow up to be violent."

"Well, I must also apologize to you Mr Brian. You see I was not even going to give you time to change your mind. It makes me see that I am not perfect either!" You see we all make mistakes, but being given the chance to change is a wonderful thing isn't it. We must never judge until we are ready to be judged!!!!"

"You know, the good thing about life?" said Mr Brian, "you are never too old to learn."