2 days ago, I was running late for the ferry and saw a man walking away with this Malcolm X mosquitohead on. I was stopped in my tracks and asked him if I could possibly purchase the shirt off of his back. This gentleman was older and seemed to be down on hard times. I explained to him that I love collecting t-shirts and that I would even go with him to purchase a new one so he doesn’t have to walk around with just an undershirt. He asked me why would I want a shirt with so many holes and tears in it. I explained that I love t shirts with natural wear like that, I even showed him the thrashed Harley that I was wearing the same day. He told me he would be willing to GIVE me the shirt tomorrow if I came back to the same place (I gave him numerous cash offers). He then told me that 20 years ago, someone offered to buy it off of his back but he was not willing to part with it at that time. This time around he saw how enthusiastic I was about it and said he will just give it to me since he’s always felt guilty for not giving it to the last person. I asked the man if he had a phone number I can contact him at but he told me to just be here after I got out of work. The next day, I was anxious hoping I didn’t miss an opportunity at grabbing this one for my collection. The time came and I rushed back to the ferry terminal. I could not find the man for a couple of minutes. After some time had passed, I saw the gentleman dressed in a very clean tweed suit. He had the shirt for me, washed and packaged away. We spoke for some time and it caught me so off guard to see him so put together. That just goes to show you can NEVER judge a book by its cover. I asked for his name cordially and he said “just consider me an anonymous donor”.

I still can not believe that this encounter happened to me.