The "Family Griswold Shirt Club" Story

Brother Steve and son Tad

It was an ordinary day.  Just downloaded photos I took during the Christmas holidays.  One of the photos immediately caught my eye.  Thought it might bring back some happy thoughts for you if one of your favorite holiday movies was "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase.  My youngest son Tad is a huge hockey fan and after seeing the movie asked for a shirt like Clark wore during the movie.  It was a home shirt worn by the Chicago Blackhawks.  On it were the numbers "00" and the name "Griswold" which was Clark's last name.  Tad wanted one exactly like it for Christmas in 1994 so we bought him one.  Had it made in a little town called Mt. Joy, PA at Kenny Smith's which was a hockey equipment store.  Tad loved it.  Matter of fact so did I and thought maybe some day I would also get one.  Well, shortly after the holidays someone broke into Tad's apartment in Norristown, PA where he was attending Antonelli's School of Photography and stole several items including the his prized hockey shirt.  The thief was caught, but he no longer had Tad's jersey.  So, the following year we bought him another one.  Same reaction from him when opening it again.  This Christmas when the family traveled to my brother Steve's home in Ephrata for a family get-together, Steve was wearing the same jersey.  Wow, LDub's family really thinks the same way!  Thought it would be neat to take the two of them together in a family pose.  Maybe next year we can add a new member to the Griswold Shirt Club.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.