I’ve Been Mugged: A Spontaneous Collection
by Darlene C. |
July 23, 2010 10:14 AM |
70 comments
Darlene C.
Location:
Columbus, NC
Favorite Flavor:
Fat Free Vanilla Caramel
My life motto: Act silly! Sing loud! Create!
My favorite color: Blue, blue and more blue
Fun Fact: I was asked to be a back-up singer--by an Elvis impersonator
I am associated with the COFFEE-MATE® brand.
Many people collect stamps, coins, old vinyl record albums, dolls, action figures or teddy bears among hundreds of other items—some rather strange. There are actually names for different types of collectors. Audiophiles collect music. Numismatists collect coins. Conchologists collect shells. Succrologists collect sugar packets. Seriously, I looked that up! I’ve never been much of a collector, unless you consider several random piles of unread magazines, books and scribbled to-do lists on sticky notes a collection. Let’s say I’ve never been a conscious collector. Turns out I’m a Mugologist. Okay, I made that name up.
The other day I brewed some coffee, opened the kitchen cabinet, reached for a mug and thought: which one am I in the mood for? The Queens University of Charlotte mug? The Northport Horse Show mug? How about the “I don’t do mornings” mug? It was then that I realized a spontaneous coffee mug collection had been slowly multiplying, secretly taking over shelf space in my kitchen cabinet. Visions of a cheesy 1950s sci-fi flick flashed in my mind, mugs mugging me, avenging all the times I poured hot coffee in their ceramic cavities!
I sifted through the mugs and soon saw a pattern emerging. For one, I’m a coffee lover and apparently, I’m obsessed with horses and cats, with an occasional corny holiday infatuation thrown in. Each mug had a story that took me back in time, if only to a few months ago.
The Northport and Rice Farms Horse Show mugs I’d won as champion prizes with my old Adult Amateur Hunter horse Final Jeopardy. The “I don’t do mornings” mug was a gift from a friend who knows me all too well. The mug with the horse’s butt and tail as a handle was also a gift. That person didn’t know me very well at all—at least I hope not, though the mug is cute! I bought the Hampton Classic and Queens University mugs, and remember fondly my experiences in both those places with every sip of coffee.
The things we collect tell the stories of our lives. Do you have a special coffee mug, and what does it mean to you?