The story of the mirror

Ok, a few years back I had this car accident. I was coming home from work and a truck with a trailer sideswiped me while turning in front of me. Needless to say it was his fault and I walk away with a small amount of award money. It wasn't much, but after all the debts were covered and insurance paid up, I had about $1,200 if memory serves.

I was at my friend Sean's house for the weekend, and his parents drove us up to Tulsa for a day of shopping and dinner. I told his folks that if they would eat at Red Lobster I would buy. I tend to be like my dad sometimes and offer to buy everybody dinner. Of all the weird things to take from my father, that's the one I inhabite most.

We get to the restaurant and it's a tad busy so we get to sit at the bar. The waitress asks us what we want and I tell her I want an Amber Bock. She tells me they don't serve it and would I like something else. I sigh and ask for a White Russian (shut up! I like it.) So we get our drinks, waiting for a table to open up and I looking around the bar, taking in the sights when I see something that catches my eye.

It's an Amber Bock mirror on the wall, advertising that delicious beverage. I wonder aloud to Sean and his folks why they would have the mirror on the wall and not sell the beer. So I stop our waitress when she walks by and ask her. She says she doesn't know. I respond that I would like the mirror for myself. She asks, "You want the mirror?" I tell her yeah, I did and that I would be willing to pay for it. So she tells me to hang on and she will go get her boss.

She comes back quickly with a middle aged Japanese man in a blue tie. He asks us how our day was and what he could help us with. I tell him that I want to buy the mirror. I explain to him that since they don't sell the beer, they don't need the mirror on the wall. He looks at the mirror, and then back at me. "You want mirror? You like mirror? Take Mirror!" I stare at him in open mouth wonder. "Are you serious? I don't have to pay for it?" He shakes his head and helps me take it off the wall. Now keep in mind, we are in a very crowded restaurant and I'm taking decorations off the wall, leaving a huge open piece of sheetrock. People are looking at me and I couldn't be happier. I just got a very cool mirror for nothing but the cost of a question.

I hung that mirror in my apartment when I got home, and it's even spent time on my friend Paul's kitchen wall, and sadly right now it's in the garage at my folk's home. I suppose now that I have my own place again I can put it up with pride and maybe even brush my teeth in front of it. But I mean, honestly, what the heck am I going to do with a beer mirror? In truth, I don't even like beer that much. It has to be ice cold and not skunky at all. I will drink it sometimes, but rarely outside of a restaurant or pub. Sometimes when at Kevin's or Pat's house I'll drink one or two, but I almost never buy it for the home. I consider it a social drink personally, and since I don't do any socializin' at the apartment, I don't see a reason to have it around. Coffee on the other hand...