I almost didn't order it. I've got a drawer full of shirts I never wear.

But this one's different, and I found that out the first time I wore it in public.

It was Memorial Day weekend. I had it on at the cookout over at my brother-in-law's place — a clean red, white and blue tee marking 250 years of this country. Nothing loud. Just an American flag and the year we became a nation.

First it was my nephew. "Where'd you get that?" Then my brother-in-law's neighbor, a Vietnam vet I'd met maybe twice. He walked over, looked at it for a second, and just nodded. Said, "That's a good-looking shirt." Coming from him, that meant something.

Then it happened again at the hardware store the next morning. I'm standing in the checkout line and the fella behind the counter points and goes, "Two-fifty. Can you believe it's been that long?" The two guys behind me chimed in. For about a minute, four strangers in a hardware store were all talking about the same thing — pride in being American. Over a shirt.

I'll be honest, I didn't expect a T-shirt to do that. But there's something about wearing it that gives folks permission to say what they're already feeling.

Here's the straight deal, because I hate surprises at checkout: the shirt itself is free. You cover the shipping, and you'll see the exact shipping amount on the screen before you confirm anything. No mystery charge, no fine print games. What you see is what you pay.

The country turns 250 this July. I figure I'll be wearing mine all summer long — and I expect I'll be having a lot more of those hardware-store conversations.

Get one for yourself. Maybe grab one for somebody who'd appreciate it too.