My Cups Runneth Over

Back in the late '80s, Walgreen's (and probably a lot of other stores) used to carry these little travel mugs that are perfect for people who travel a lot -- like me. They're made of malleable plastic, single-wall construction, and come with an adhesive-bottomed base and a lid that has a slight depression with a small hole in it (for sipping). What makes these mugs particularly good for me is that they hold exactly one mug of my hot chocolate (per my personal recipe) and can be put in the microwave. They're also unbreakable. And they only cost 50 cents apiece. Nice.

Not having a whole lot of foresight, I only bought two. (Who would have thought they'd ever stop making them?) When I started doing a lot of travel in the late '90s, I tried to find one to put in my travel kit. No dice. They were buried somewhere in my storage. So I started checking the stores. Still no luck. I think I've check every thrift shop in 17 states. No luck.

Last October, when I was in Albuquerque, my friend Terry helped my tear thru my storage, looking for -- among other things -- one of my mugs. After pulling out about a third of the stuff in there, I finally found one. (Found the rest of the stuff on my list, too.) I've kept that mug very closely guarded ever since.

But I still keep my eyes open for more. I swore that if I ever found any again, I'd buy at least a dozen. Although I'll take what I can get.

This afternoon, I was in the America's Thrift Store up on Lee Highway, looking for another pair of old pants to work out in. (Had to throw the other pair out; they were shot.) On a lark, I made a swing thru the whole place, just to see what they had. Over with all the dishes, guess what I found? They only had one, but I had a death grip on that thing until I paid for it walked out the store with it.

Now, if I could just find a few more.....