Back story: I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. Well, half raised. When I was eleven, after my parents divorced, my mother, brother and I moved to the foothills of NC where my mother was born. In 1975 is was a cheap place to live for a single mother with two kids. Most of her family still lived there. Spent several summers visiting, stayed with my grandparents, played with cousins, typical summer vacation kind of thing. It was okay, but I liked being in Atlanta better. City kid.
It was upsetting to move away from my friends, places I knew and was familiar with. The actual moving day wasn't too bad because my uncle (Mother's brother) and his family had come down from NC to help. He and my aunt had two kids the same ages as my brother and I so we entertained each other and stayed fairly distracted about the whole move thing. It was late at night when we finally got to the house my mother had rented. Too dark to see anything. We just piled in the house with what we needed and went straight to bed.
I will never forget waking up that first morning, looking out my new bedroom window, and seeing acres of cornfield and chickens in the front yard. I stood there and cried. I was immediately homesick for Atlanta. I stayed homesick for years. Went back a couple of times years later for college and a job, but it just didn't work out that I could stay. Ah well, that's another story.
Back to the coffee cup ...
In my mid-twenties I started collecting Coca-Cola stuff. After all, Atlanta is the home of Coke. I was also a Coca-Cola addict, but again, I digress.
I collected all kinds of stuff ... antique Coke trays, cards, advertisement posters, dish towels, coasters, vintage bottles, magnets, etc. I even had one of those huge antique red metal 'button' Coke outdoor store signs that hung on my wall in my living room. But my favorite thing was an old, green glass soda shop Coke mug. The kind used for making Coke floats (Coke with a scoop of vanilla ice cream). I have no idea of the date or antique value of the thing, and that didn't really matter to me, I just liked it. I had found it at a yard sale for .25¢. It became my 'cup of choice' for nearly everything I drank. Sure, sometimes I'd use a different cup or glass, but it stayed my preferred cup for all these years.
I sold off nearly all of my collection a few years ago when I moved back to this area. Big ol' yard sale. Cleaned house, literally. One of the few things I kept from my Coke collection was my cup. Couldn't part with it. Loved my cup.
Today, I'm deeply saddened to say, I broke it. Washing dishes. Slipped right out of my hand and WHAM! Hit the side of the sink and broke into a half dozen pieces.
I stood there a full minute, stunned, before I launched into a tirade of non-printable swearin'. I wrapped all it's pieces in a towel and buried it in the trash can. Had a fresh pot of coffee and no favorite cup. I shall miss my cup.
I wanted to show you a picture of it (ya' know, 'cause blogs are so much better with photos) so I did the typical thing ... Googled it. Not really expecting to find anything and have to post this naked of pictures, I was surprised to discover one for sale on ebay. Who'da' thunk it? I clicked the link.
Holy schmoly! Would you believe the seller is asking $36.12? And that's reduced from $42.50! Granted, they have a bottle opener for sale with it, too. But $36.12? Are they outta' their minds? Now I really loved my cup, but thanks, I'll have to pass on that offer. I'll use another cup I already have.
Did I mention it's a Coca-Cola cup, too?
Namaste, y'all ...
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