Cups

​Cups
Unbelievable (well it is to me anyway.)
We have quite a large shed.  In it is a table tennis table (its claim to fame is the final of the Australian Open was played on it)  There is also a large table for entertaining guests (we will have our Thanksgiving on it), a spa, a large keyboard and other musical instruments, two book cases and a place for getting a coffee, tea or milo.
It was the place where beverages are served that caused wonderment for me.  We have cups there that are available for use.  Personally, I find cups really handy.  It saves me needing to cup my hands to get a drink -a drawback is if the substance I have is hot, then I am not likely to want to cup my hands anyway.  Besides, it normally makes a mess if I drink just cupping my hands.
As I say we have heaps of cups for anyone to use.  Merril was in Myers and out of curiosity decided to see what a particular set of four was worth these days.  The price on them was $167 a cup.  Yes a cup.  That is like $668 for the set.
I can only say I was flabbergasted.  Suddenly I saw those cups in a whole new light.  Here we were giving out cups to use and those four were ones of many.  Now that I know the cost, I have withdrawn them.
There are those that would spend $167 for a cup, but I am not one of them.  When it comes to expensive crockery “Kuskie the wimp” comes to the fore.  Occasionally Merril brings out an expensive set and I am nervous.  I so do not want to break anything.  I actually refuse to wash them up.  Washing up is what I do, but for those things I prefer someone else wears the potential consequences.
I said to Merril I would not spend $167 on a cup.  The truth is I have trouble spending $10 on one.  What she said in response to my statement got me thinking.  “They may as well be 1 million dollars.
I reckon that’s true.  If something is wanted but out of reach, it does not matter if it is just out of reach or well out.  It may as well be worth a million dollars.  What someone said to me came to mind. “Hold them loosely.”
I can see the sense in that.  When those cups were just part of the gang, I used them freely.  Now I know they are valuable (to me) I am all protective.  I will always be sensible, but the bottom line is I cannot take them with me when I go.  Besides, it would be totally weird if I were to say, “I don’t mind going but I am going to take those cups with me.”
A joke was told about a guy who insisted his wife leave him $35,000 in his casket if she wanted to inherit his stuff.  She agreed.  Sure enough when he was buried she did it.  A friend said to her, “I can’t believe you did that.”  She said, “It is ok, I wrote a cheque.”
Recently I saw Meninga reminiscing.  He said in the floods he lost his memorabilia.  I lost stuff I treasured too in floods.  It seems though, even if I leave stuff for future generations, it is just a matter of time, I am guaranteed to lose it.  Even cups.