The economy may be on the skids.</p><p>But President-elect Barack Obama&#8217;s campaign for the presidency became a stimulus for T-shirt sales. During the presidential campaign and after the election, T-shirts with Obama&#8217;s image on them became a hot commodity.</p><p>Chris Evans, who owns T-Shirt King, a company at 1217 Brooklyn Ave., should know. He&#8217;s currently sold out of them. Evans designs them and prints them himself, selling them for $15.</p><p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t keep them,&#8221; Evans said. &#8220;Obama has been great for the T-shirt business.&#8221;</p><p>Before he printed the shirts, Evans ran his design by officials with Obama&#8217;s campaign. The shirts gave Evans the opportunity to participate in several fundraisers, including the Obama campaign itself.</p><p>&#8220;We sold shirts and donated a good portion of that revenue to the campaign,&#8221; Evans said. &#8220;That was kind of cool because we were helping. I didn&#8217;t want it to seem like I was just trying to make a lot of money off him. It was good for business, but it was also good for awareness.&#8221;</p><p>Evans has been in the T-shirt business since 1985, but he still can&#8217;t predict how long a shirt will be popular. He didn&#8217;t want to print too many, then end up being stuck with them.</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;re dealing in retail, so you never really want to print an abundance of them,&#8221; Evans said. &#8220;We thought he would win. But after the campaign, we wondered: Are people still going to want them? And they are. The day after the election, that&#8217;s when we completely sold out. One person came in and purchased 20. It&#8217;s been a blessing for business. But it&#8217;s one of those things you just can&#8217;t predict.&#8221;</p><p>&#8226;&#8226;&#8226;</p><p><strong>T-shirts, Part II: </strong>No matter where Louis W. Garrett goes, he always has a few Obama T-shirts around for sale.</p><p>Garrett&#8217;s $15 T-shirt has the image of Obama on it with the words, &#8220;Head of State&#8221; at the top. At the bottom it says, &#8220;Opening in 2009, starring Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as his first lady. Also appearing, Joe Biden as vice-president. Presented by the people of the United States.&#8221; On the back, the shirt says, &#8220;A Change America Believed In.&#8221;</p><p>Garrett has a friend in Los Angeles who had a few of them. When Garrett was out that way, he asked if he could bring a few back to Kansas City. &#8220;When I came back to Kansas City, people ate them up,&#8221; Garrett said. &#8220;Business has been steady ever since. I sell several dozen each week.&#8221;</p><p>Garrett finds customers in beauty salons, at clubs and even in restaurants. &#8220;I go everywhere,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I could be having lunch and someone will come over and say, &#8216;I sure like that shirt.&#8217; I tell them I have large and extra-large.&#8221;</p><p>When Obama came to the Liberty Memorial, Garrett had his best day.</p><p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t keep them in my hands that day,&#8221; Garrett said. &#8220;They&#8217;re still selling. It&#8217;s a hot item.&#8221;</p><p>&#8226;&#8226;&#8226;</p><p>Earlier this week, Pat Mallen took one step closer to becoming a centenarian.</p><p>The Belton man turned 99 on Wednesday, and celebrated by playing nine holes at Minor Park Golf Course in Kansas City.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very thankful for the life and health that God has given me,&#8221; Mallen said. &#8220;I enjoyed my work and my retirement.&#8221;</p><p>After working for the J.C. Penney Co., Mallen worked for the Skelly Oil Co. in Chillicothe, Mo., for 42 years, retiring as regional petroleum sales manager in 1973. He then guided tours throughout North America before buying a travel agency that he ran for seven years before retiring for good.</p><p>Mallen credits his longevity with staying active. Also, both his parents lived until 92.</p><p>&#8220;I exercise every day,&#8221; Mallen said. &#8220;I also inherited good genes from my parents.&#8221;