Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is in the news again.
The Vancouver-based actor has been busy in the past couple of years, doing the things that he seems to do best, which is to make people laugh and be happy.
This is not a story about Reynold’s involvement in the proposed purchase of the Ottawa Senators NHL franchise, although that’s a big deal, especially with the team sitting forty minutes down the road from us here in Renfrew.
What this is about is Reynold’s assisting in the design and marketing of a t-shirt to commemorate Canadian hero Terry Fox in advance of this year’s annual Terry Fox Run.
The white shirt features a black and white image of Terry Fox on the front, off-set by the red in the Canadian flag that adorns his chest. Arrayed horizontally behind Terry is a number of letter salutations of “Dear Terry” in blue from legitimate people who wrote to Terry when he was alive. On the back of the shirt are cut-outs of content from some of the actual letters he received.
Reynold’s, who said that he’s participated in the Terry Fox Run since he “was in second grade” was part of the design collaboration team that also included Terry’s family.
The ball really got rolling when Reynolds shared a picture of himself wearing the shirt on his Twitter and Instagram accounts over the weekend. By Monday, over 6,300 of the shirts had sold.
The shirts are elegant and light at the same time, but also carry the emotion of real people writing real letters to someone who has inspired them.
The shirts, which are available in four different configurations (short/long sleeve, performance, and children/youth), are available from $20 to $40, depending on the type.
The meaning that lay behind the shirt, that of dedication, sacrifice, selflessness, and indomitable spirit?
That’s priceless.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 