Birthday present to myself

What diehard Mary fan could possibly resist buying this T-shirt?

Cleary, this Mary fan could not.

I am already sensing that it may open the door to some interesting conversations.  I happened to be wearing it the other day as I dropped old clothes and housewares off at Goodwill.  As I filled out the donation receipt, puzzling over how much an old eight-track is worth, one of the Goodwill guys — who up until then had been a silent figure in the background — suddenly asked, “Who’s Mary?”

I looked up from my form.  My head had been lost in numbers and figures, so it took me a moment to register what he was asking.   It then took me another moment to figure out what to say.  I mean, how do I answer that question?  “You know Jesus?  She’s his mom,” or “She’s one of the most beloved women in the world, and with good reason,” or “She’s the one I turn to whenever I need a holy woman up there to talk to”?  An interesting puzzle.

Before I could open my mouth to respond, though, he suddenly got a light of recognition in his eye.  “Oh, the Virgin Mary,” he said, smiling.

“Yes, exactly,” I said.  I left it at that and turned in my receipt.   I could have said oh, so much more.

Maybe next time I will.