Glass Memories

I don't drink very much, I'm quite a lightweight when it comes to booze. Now that I've become more sensitive to any kind of weight gain I'm even less interested in libations but for some reason I've been thinking about gin tonics lately. When I was drinking more at another point in my life gin and tonic was my go to beverage as well as white Russians. Gin and tonics were enough of a well drink there usually cheap and maybe feel like a detective. Don't ask me to explain. Anyway, a couple weeks ago Dianne brought me over a bottle of gin that we've had for over 20 years. That's how long it takes me consume a small bottle of gin. I may have three drinks left in the model. A couple weeks ago I'm not sure where I picked them up but I found a four pack of cans of tonic water. For the first time in decades I've had the ingredients for my drink a preference. Now, I realize that I don't have a “rocks” glass. Now all have to take the bus down to DI and see if they've got anything like that. This afternoon I was researching exactly that drink glasses – – I don't know what else to call them – – and I came across to tall skinny glasses for Tom Collins drinks. At all but forgotten about Tom Collins. There is a brief period that I grew quite fond of that mixed drink in my university years. I didn't realize that the Tom Collins glass was specific to that drink and then realized there was a pitcher for serious Tom Collins consumers for parties and such. I never knew. Then as I perused the different containers people could use to mix these drinks I have a remarkable flash of awareness.

When I was fairly young 10 or 12 I don't quite remember except for one Holiday season I had accrued more funding than usual for holiday gifts. And I distinctly remember at some store I was at I came upon this beautifully delicate glass pitcher that must've been 50 ounces maybe more. It was for sale cheap cheap enough that I could afford the pitcher. I thought it was a mistake and when I asked the salesperson wireless for sale she pointed out a small small bubble not far from the handle. I could hardly see it. The sales lady said the bubble was a flaw in the pitcher It was junk and nobody wanted it. I thought it was beautiful, elegant slender. I thought sure my mom would love it. It would give our families in class. I bought the crystal vessel and drug it home so very careful. I wrapped it (this really was the first real gift I gave to my mother). I was so proud of myself and was up until this afternoon as I was sifting through images of Tom Collins sets. When my mom opened the Christmas gift she didn't know quite what to do with it. She, had the look on her face that my dad did when he brought home the Christmas ham from the shop the first year they switched out from turkeys the holiday hams. But she elegantly accepted the gift and we used it on the closest thing the formal occasions we had which is holiday dinners. It always held milk is so proud every time we used it. When not in use that was in the cabinet for all the dishes were kept. I inherited the glass pitcher the number of years ago and kept it through a couple of moves toward think last year I finally dropped and broke it. Only today did I realize in a shock that this elegant glass pitcher was a Tom Collins pitcher! The closest image I could find to the vessel that I have listed here is A stub compared to the elegance of the flawed beauty I so proudly gave my mother that Christmas year.

That piece of glass was over 50 years old. I can't believe it lasted so long neither can I believe the length of my naivety was just about everything in life it seems…