Rail Tees 2024 Recap

2024 was, without a doubt, a fantastically shit-tastic year!
I am decidedly behind on my blog. When you operate a shop by yourself, many “less important” things get pushed to the side. While I am certain nobody is actually reading these blogs, my web guy informs me that regularly updated blog posts are crucial to the algorithms that help folks find Rail Tees when they search for such services on the internet. Who am I to argue?

Life does, in fact, get quite busy. And, I do have a valid excuse for slacking off on these blogs. 2024 was a tough year for me, personally. While it was a banner year at Rail Tees, life outside of the shop dealt me many blows. My mother, Carolyn Jean Johnson, passed on February 9th. By the time I get this blog post to my web guy it will likely be the one year anniversary of her passing. Here’s a link to her obituary, if you are so inclined to read it: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/idahostatesman/name/carolyn-johnson-obituary?id=54422826

Dave & Mom

While still grappling with mom’s passing, in early June I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was four months of tests and scans before a biopsy showed once and for all the definitive presence of cancer. Up to that point I thought it might just all be a mistake. But, I couldn’t be so lucky. About the time of my biopsy, my younger brother was also diagnosed with prostate cancer. If there was anything good to come out of my diagnosis it was that I was able to give my little brother a head’s up so that he might get checked out. They say if any man lives long enough he will eventually get prostate cancer. While it is one of the more treatable cancers, it is not something to be ignored. If you are a man of a certain age, or if there are men in your life of a certain age, please urge them to get checked for prostate cancer. It’s a simple blood test that checks for the presence of Prostate Specific Antigens. If you’d like to know more about prostate cancer, please look here: https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate

David and Brothers

Then, came the worst news of all. On November 26th, two days before Thanksgiving, my older brother, Leo LaRue, was struck and killed by a car while out walking his dogs near his home in Norfolk, Virginia. Leo and both dogs were killed in the accident. Even though it’s been two months since his passing, I am still finding it difficult to deal with his loss. And, upon learning the news, suddenly the cancer I was dealing with seemed infinitesimal by comparison. There is much more to say about this tragedy, but in the meantime, if you’d like to know just a little about my amazing brother, check out this now defunct GoFundMe that was set up in his honor: https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-leo-a-life-cut-short?qid=d896db71bf1d643c2fe11f11f6f653d9

So, while it may all seem like an excuse for not keeping up on my blogs, 2024 was, without a doubt, a fantastically shit-tastic year, and one I hope to never have a repeat of. I hope to address each of these items – mom’s passing, my cancer, and Leo’s passing – in more detail in upcoming blogs. But, who knows. For someone who graduated college with a degree in English with a writing emphasis, I’m finding it difficult and tedious to put together even just 500 words a month. But, like I said, I don’t think anyone is reading these anyway, so does it really matter what I write? Until next time, let your loved ones know you are thinking of them.

Welcome to Rail Tees!

Located in Boise, Idaho, Rail Tees Custom Screenprinting & Embroidery is not your average print shop. Since 1986, Rail Tees owner & operator David “Rail” Colcord has been providing top notch screen printed & embroidered apparel to a wide range of clients, including businesses, non-profit organizations, churches, schools, bands, restaurants, and anyone else looking for exceptional branded products.
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