Aunt Barb provided another crucial foundation block to my free shirt awareness with this beauty she was able to get from her work (at a bicycle place). Actually, she was able to get a bunch of GU very often. Those were good times growing up in the early 90's. You got to ride your bicycle through the war zone that is any street with cars on it to some random destination that could very well be a waste of time. You could act like "money ain't a thing" (because it wasn't at the time). In my case you would have to add wearing this shirt and sucking down an occasional packet of GU. I did wear the shirt quite a bit.

The novelty of the comet is what I remember first drew me into the possibilities of the shirt. Thinking about why any company would bother with such a design freed my prejudices and allowed me to more earnestly consider free shirts as something I would be interested in. The demand to "Propel Yourself" was mockingly heeded by some members of my school who would then inform me that I ought to propel myself.

GU calls itself "Fast Food for Athletes". Most people upon getting that answer want more clarification. Therefore, I would describe GU as flavored goo in tiny packets that has the potential of tasting good. Let me explain that, GU comes in six flavors, three of which I partook of during the heyday of this t-shirt. The flavors ingested and processed through my body at various points would be Just Plain, Chocolate Outrage, and Orange Burst. Just Plain was and probably will forever remain my favorite because I am a bland kind of person; that and the taste is plain while being unique. The taste sensation I experienced while having Just Plain GU is hard to describe to people who haven't had it before, so I doubt my words can ever truly describe the taste. I will safely counter GU's assertion that it is just plain. Chocolate Outrage is a description that the company nailed right. It is an outrage that they would call it chocolate, Nasty as in NNNAAAASSSSTTYYY. To me, Orange Burst is the middle child who never acts up of the group. I love, even though that is way too strong of a word for my feelings on flavored goo, Orange Burst as much as the other GU. I never ate as much Orange Burst as I did Just Plain, and didn't care about that as much as I did about Chocolate Outrage. GU has expanded with three more flavors for a total of six. The new flavors since when I had GU on a semi-regular basis are Banana Blitz, Tri Berry, and Vanilla Bean. Maybe one day I will taste of the nectar of GU again.

I noticed on GU's website they have a program called "Stash Your Trash" where ten empty packets of GU can be redeemed for one full packet. I find this an odd ratio to meet their goal of helping the environment, but completely understandable considering the reality of business. Furthermore, I commend the attempt. It is better then nothing. The cheapskate in me hopes as GU's fortunes grow they increase the ratio. The link to the .pdf coupon is included in the link section. Note for the informants, I have seen the "free shirt" notice, but I am not a regular consumer of GU, which would make me have to buy something I normally would not to receive a free shirt. I am interested, however, in receiving empty packets of GU so that I may send away for the shirt. That would be grand.