Shirts

J.J. Dufresne is in my living room, keeping track of the Twins in their wildcard match against the White Sox while he pairs up his socks. Then he shakes out a tee-shirt that says “Knowing Is Half the Battle” across the front. He holds it pinched at the shoulders and flaps it smooth before he begins to fold it.

There is something meticulous about the way J.J. Dufresne folds a tee-shirt. First, he folds over each sleeve. Then he folds the bottom to the top. Then he folds it in thirds from side to side. Then he folds it in half again from bottom to top. By the time he’s finished, the shirt is about the size of a handkerchief. I’ve never seen a man fold like that before, so exact and precise, almost fussy. It will take J.J. almost forty minutes to fold a single basket of tee-shirts.

Watching him fold a tee-shirt that says “Pork Chop Sandwiches,” it isn’t hard for me to see J.J. as a little boy with a red pillowcase knotted around his shoulders, hanging out with his mom as a way to avoid getting caught alone with his brothers. Nancy Dufresne is folding a basket of laundry, and while her husband Ted rakes the leaves in the front lawn, and the big boys shoot hoops in the driveway, she shows J.J. how it’s done, how to fold up shirts nice and neat. Good job! she tells him. It’s almost suppertime in Cosmos, Minnesota, and Nancy has a hamburger-cheesy-macaroni hot dish in the oven. Earlier, she baked and frosted an angel food cake for dessert. Poop on your head and your brains! the big boys shout at the other, but Nancy and I don’t hear them. We’re telling J.J. he’s a good little helper. What a wonderful child you are! we say. Such a nice boy!

Grown-up J.J. sent me the following email:

tonight a bunch of us are going over to Tom's place (ex-roommate from DC) I think it is safe to say that his wife is out of town because we are going over to play 'guitar hero II' on his play station. she made him bring 'guitar hero I' over to my house because she wasnt into Tom's hard core rocking. have you seen the ads for this game? its the latest craze for 30 year old boys. two toy guitars you plug into the game and you play a bunch of songs. it's great. you can either play as a team or you can duel each other. also, next weekend my friend jodi is having a kegger with a 'rock and roll' theme. i cant think what to wear. the only thing i have now is to take a t-shirt and burn a bunch of holes in it and go as a fan who went to that Great White concert that burned and 100 fans died. you got any ideas?