NOT ALL THIEVERY IS KNAVERY

I like to drink coffee. Two cups a day. I've never been much of a snob about it. Gas station coffee, Dunkin, home drip, perked. Whatever. I liked it hot and black. No other requirement.

Since retiring from engineering, I've gotten a little more discerning. Don't get me wrong. I'll still drink most any coffee. But now I buy whole bean coffee and grind it fresh on the morning I make it. It tastes better.

Here's what I use. Simple. Easy. Grind for ten seconds. Get one at https://amzn.to/4cPHyVe.

There's nothing wrong with storing the whole beans in the bag it came in. I'm a Mainer, not a socialite. But I found this one day and liked it. Seemed manly, sort of, and does a great job. https://amzn.to/4w55I7a

You can put the ground coffee in any drip machine. I have reusable K-cups to fill when I'm in a rush in the morning. Or perk it like my grandparents did. I still do sometimes upta camp. But if you want really good coffee, press it with one of these. https://amzn.to/4ugi4Y9

I have all of the above and use them on the daily when I'm home or in the camper. I recommend them.

Having good hot coffee (GHC, as my friend Kendall Bliss called it from his days in the Army Airborne) and a way to make it and carry it is a good idea. But it can make you a target for thievery. I know better than anyone.

On my way upta camp one fall many years ago, I bought a travel mug at Indian Hill Trading Post in Greenville, Maine. The best mug I've ever seen. Push button to drink and spill proof. 16oz, the perfect size. Blaze orange, which is a big deal when you're deer hunting in the woods (hunting purists will say the scent of coffee will drive deer away, but that's not been my experience after shooting many deer. Once, I had to put it down in forest duff to take a shot.) I even like the IHTP logo on the side. It quickly became my favorite.

I carried this thing everywhere. Work. Play. Sitting at home. Traveling to visit my parents on Thanksgiving. Which is where my sister spied it. The knave took it home, washed it, and has been using it ever since. For many years. Like, I'm not sure, seven or eight years. I'm not kidding.

Every so often, she even takes a picture of herself using it and texts it to me, just because she's got a little evil in her. I got this one just a few days ago. Just look at the smirk.

She's very pretty, I know. And a successful nurse practitioner, wife, and mother of three. A big brother couldn't be prouder. Except for her sticky fingers.

But in the end, the joke's on her. Every time I get one of those pics, I laugh out loud. They make my day. I look forward to and adore getting those pictures. If I had known, I would have bought her an entire pallet of coffee mugs.

Like the mug? Alas, they're no longer available. But here's something real close, just like the one I use every day. https://amzn.to/4257Ldv

Next time you bring your favorite mug to a family holiday, lock that thing up. Unless you love your siblings. Then leave it right where they can find it.