I’ll Drink To That: Life Stories From My Cups, Glasses, And Coffee Mugs

I’m actually not a coffee drinker…

Though you couldn’t tell that from my cupboard full of mugs and glasses

​But when I want some hot tea, hot chocolate or milk to go along with a dessert?  I often take a sip of nostalgia from…

The Joker Glass:

“Is that glass dirty?” my husband asked. “That’s not dirt, that’s age,” I laughed. 

My siblings and I got this glass featuring Batman’s archvillain from a Chicago Arby’s in 1976. 

It’s still in decent shape almost 50 years later, a testament to its rare use on the top shelf of our cupboard. That’s the same place my dad kept it in his apartment. When our family cleared it out after his funeral in 2019, I said that glass would always have a home.

The Indiana Daily Student Mug:

The Indiana University’s student newspaper is where I spent many a day and night from 1982 to 1985. 

This mug was a gift in 1990 from Dave Adams, the man who became its publisher years after I graduated. After a Society of Professional Journalists convention in Louisville, Ky., we ran into each other at a gay bar, fittingly named Discovery. We dated briefly but realized we were better as friends.

The NLGJA Mug:

Although I was out to family and friends by 1989, I remained in the closet at work. 

When Oakland Tribune executive editor Roy Aarons promoted the survey “Alternatives: Gays and Lesbians in the Newsroom,” I responded, taking a step out.

Three years later, when the new National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association had its first convention in San Francisco, I told my South Bend Tribune bosses and colleagues where and with whom I’d spend my week off.

The “Boss Hog” Mug

Working as a news copy editor at Raleigh, N.C.’s News & Observer challenged me in ways I had never known.

As copy editor on “Boss Hog,” a series on the environmental impact of the state’s hog industry, I became part of a Pulitzer-winning team.

Also on that team was Dwane Powell, a gifted editorial cartoonist who died in 2019.

His “Boss Hog” mug was, like much of his work, a little off color – and fully on target.

The St. Francis’ 25^th Jubilee GIFT Mug:

In 2007, my Catholic community marked its 25^th anniversary with a campaign called Growing in Faith Together.

This mug eschews the Prayer of St. Francis, which wasn’t written by him, for his self-penned Prayer Before the Crucifix.

The UNC J-School Mug: 

A former newsroom colleague asked me if I were interested in teaching news editing in spring 2009 at UNC-Chapel Hill.

It was the semester between my 2008 departure from The N&O and my acceptance to NC State for its master of education program. I said yes and learned, quickly, that teaching even one section of a college course is a minimum 40-hour job if you want to do it right. 

The Cornell University Mug:

I may not have a sentimental attachment to this school.

But I do think about the high school senior who gave me this mug when he declared his intention to attend it. He and his siblings represent the hundreds of students I’ve been proud to help through the years as a high school counselor.  

The TNOCS Mug: 

If you’ve made it this far with me? Thank you! 

Even after three years, writing about the big stuff… and the Smallstuff for this website, continues to be a pleasure.

Whenever I use this mug, I’m thinking of all of you.

 OK: Your turn!

What stories can be found in your cupboards?

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