[Being Chris]

Our trip thus far has been far more diverse and coincidental (some might say providential) than I had imagined it would be at the outset. As many of you know, we are outfitted with a tent and sleeping bags in order to keep our costs down when we are not able to stay with someone, but we have really only had to camp out for about one-third of the time we’ve been on our trip – entirely because of the generosity of the people we meet.

Currently, we are residing in the actively welcoming home of the Mendez family and the center of operations for Zamforia Industries.

Here is how we found ourselves in this wonderful situation: the Mendezes are cousins to Anissa who is the best friend of my family friend, Elizabeth, whose son, Mike, was one of my best friends growing up (it’s wonderful that respect and trust follow the transitive property). Anissa heard that B.A.D. was in Boston, asked if we needed a place to stay, and made a phone call. We heard from Jonathan Mendez an hour after Anissa told him we needed some assistance, and we were eating breakfast at their dining room table 48 hours later.

A few words on the Mendezes: very rarely does one become acquainted with a family that is so diverse in its interests, yet so connected by familial love. We were honored to celebrate father’s day with Alberto Mendez, a Harvard-educated professor of film and the Spanish language (currently retired), whose mind is a compendium of interesting statistical facts and unique personal experiences. Berto’s wife, Barbara, made her warm-heartedness known the moment we woke up to the smells of french toast and sausage (prepared for us before we were even introduced), and her joviality bursts forth from an unending spring deep within her, expressed in a full-bodied “Wow!” whenever she is impressed. From what I can see from the past few days, their sons (Jonathan and Alexander) combine their father’s intelligence and love of learning with their mother’s natural kindness at the right measurements (bake @ four-hundred twenty degrees for one hour), and they are definitely two forces to be reckoned with (I don’t know many 23-year-olds who have started their own shirt company or 21-year-olds who have engineered a retaining wall to support a patio, but now I know one of each).

Now that I’ve written a sentence about each family member (I’ll certainly devote more space to them in my inevitable full-lengther), I would like to talk about Zamforia Industries and the It Says Love™ apparel line.

Zamforia’s t-shirts say love on them in different languages and designs. Italian, Irish, Ethiopian, Spanish, etc. – no matter which language or design you choose, your shirt will say love. No matter how the imagery or vernacular on the shirt changes, the concept for each shirt is the same.

“Zamforia” is a word coined by Jonathan Mendez that refers to the indescribable sensation of being alive and relishing in the joy and deep mystery that is existence (I think. Once again, the feeling is indescribable).  His shirts are a means of spreading love outward into the world. The word “love” is sometimes disguised by a topsy-turvy design or unknown language, but that is exactly what love is all about – real love (chills-your-bones love) is usually found in unanticipated moments. Jonathan’s goal (which he is actively achieving) is to produce quality t-shirts with eye-catching designs that will force people to ask, “Hey, what’s your shirt say?” Anyone wearing one will naturally reply, “It Says Love™!”

I can tell you first-hand that Zamforia is real and that it is embodied in everything put forth by Jonathan AND his family.

According to the ancient Greek philosopher, Empedocles, Love and Strife are the motive forces that cause the motion of the four eternal elements. Love is an attractive force and Strife is a repulsive force. When the universe was young, Love was the dominant force, holding the universe together in spherical harmony while Strife maintained the outer edges of the sphere. Over time, Strife began to gain effectiveness, and the world is the way it is today because of the constant push and pull between Love and Strife. In Empedocles’ concept of a temporally-cyclical universe, there will be a time when Love reunites the eternal elements and the process will start anew.

I’m thinking it’s about time for Love to start fighting the battle to reclaim universal harmony, and Zamforia is producing the battle standards.

Check out Zamforia Industries at www.zamforia.com and start spreading the Love.

Thank you to the Mendezes for making us part of the family, and to everyone who has let us reside with them throughout the course of our journey (Elisa, Joe, Jennifer, and McKenzie – you all have made us feel welcome and solidified our belief in the kindness of others).

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