The Mug - Andre The Giant

I am going to give this huge mug away (photos below). I have had it since around 1989 – that is 28 years. While I have never put liquid in it, and therefore have never used it to drink from, I have put objects in it – coins, pens, and other “stuff”.

I purchased two of these mugs at Big Lots. Vickie isn’t keen on Big Lots. To me, Big Lots is Big Lots, meaning that it ain’t Sacks Fifth Avenue (which I’ve never been too) but it ain’t dumpster diving either. You never know what you’ll find in Big Lots, you may find nothing, but then again you may find what you were looking for, or maybe find something you didn’t know you were looking for.

The mug is what my impulse buying looks like – it seldom happens and when it does it makes no sense. I just thought it was a cool mug, something different. Alas, Vickie does not permit me to use it when we entertain guests – just as there is a tie or two she would rather I not wear and that I have to sneak out of the house and only put on once I’m at the office.

At the time of my purchase there was a maintenance technician named Jay who worked for me. He had a little boy, whose name I don’t recall. I appreciated Jay’s work ethic and attitude and enjoyed being around him. I also had occasion to meet his son. When I saw the mugs I thought, “I’m going to buy two, one for me and one for Jay’s son.”

I associate the mug with Jay and his son and with our first years in Richmond, VA. Jay worked for me with the first company I was with in Richmond and those first years have special memories for me. After living in the Baltimore – D.C. area with its traffic and fast-paced way of living and doing business, Richmond was a welcomed change of culture. That first group of properties, in Southside Richmond, have special memories.

I don’t imagine Jay’s son still has his mug, but I still have mine. I’m looking for a good candidate to give it to and have a boy in our neighborhood in mind – the problem is that he has brothers and I need to think of other things to give the brothers. Maybe I’ll go to Big Lots and see what they have.

Maybe I should drink from the mug one time before it goes away? That seems fitting.