Every Time

About 16 years ago, when I moved into my current house, I got an insulated mug at my favorite grocery store.  It is red with a white liner.  Every time I would go to the store there they would be, in a variety of colors.  6 bucks.  Well my current unit was starting to get a bit discolored and I thought I would get another one.  "We haven't carried those in 5 years."  I have looked online for a couple of months and the company that made them (Aladdin) doesn't make them any more.  Well, I'll have to find a new one on Ebay.  They have everything.  They have a new one, black outside and black inside.  AND they're collectors items now so they want 50 bucks for it.  And if I get it I won't be certain it is clean inside, because it is black.  Why does any simple thing that I purchase and like become a prized collectors' item and why did they ever stop making the things if they were so desirable to begin with?  I have just purchased a mauve version of the mug that is a hospital give-away of a bygone era that is guaranteed to be lightly used with only minor imperfections to the graphics on the side.  17 bucks.  Am I really such an indicator of what the public wants?

I wore Converse Chuck Taylor high top sneakers when I was a kid. And those cheap canvas Vans. I wore out several pairs in my day that cost less than $10 a pair. Those cheap canvas sneakers are now close to $50 a pair, just because the skater "dudes" wear them. They are now "hot." I understand your frustration.

You are a trend-setter, 75.

WC