Sitting by the waters edge, watching people walk by wearing t-shirt memories of their present vacation I am moved and humbled. My wife doesn’t allow t-shirts with printing on them in our house. She says they are tacky. She is my fashion stylist and darn good at it.

I try to remember when was the last time I purchased a shirt like that. It has been probably 15-20 years ago. I think it was in Mexico on vacation. I think it was… yeah! It was in Cabo San Lucas at The Office. The Office is a restaurant/cantina right on the beach. It is one of the most relaxing places I have been in the world. If you have been there I know you remember it.  If you have not, I recommend visiting it. (I believe that part of Mexico is still safe). But that wasn’t a t-shirt. But it was a strong memory made stronger because of the button up short sleeve light weight shirt with their logo on the back which I purchased. What is their logo you ask? The Office’s logo is a light outline of the your first impression once you arrive at The Office. Worn across my back for many memories and many years was the bar and stools on the left, the restaurant tables and chairs on the right and the beautiful pristine sandy beach and gentle ocean stretching forth in the middle. It is a perfect balance of great drinks, great food, great beach/ocean/sailing, and vacation experience.

The t-shirt I just saw walk by was from one of the local deep sea fishing boat companies here in Kona, Hawaii. Just seeing the invaluable souvenir on the tourist’s back brought me back to that Cabo trip with a buddy where we went deep see fishing. My buddy was the only person on the boat who caught anything. He caught a beautiful Yellowtail. The crew cleaned it, filleted it and we took enough for the 2 of us for dinner that night. We couldn’t eat it all so we gave the rest to the crew. They will either eat it or sell it to the restaurants. We took our fillets into a restaurant and for $8 each they cooked it up, added rice and beans, and we had the most amazing fish dining experience I’ve ever had. There is nothing like fresh caught. Especially if you freshly caught it.

All these deeply detailed memories from one person wearing a souvenir they purchased for their own memory. So I say “thank you” to all of you who share your memories of your experiences and thus remind us of our own experiences and shared time with loved one. I am moved because of the power of souvenirs. I am humbled because I know live in the home of so many powerful souvenirs. If seeing someone else’s memories makes you jealous I encourage you to get off your backside, eliminate the excuses and go create some memorable experiences worthy of a souvenir. Smile baby smile.

From the beautiful Island of Hawaii is say mahalo and a hui ho.

ThruJimsEyes.com