Old mug, new mug

Yesterday, being the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, was New Mug Day at Boscos Squared in Memphis.

It’s the day when Boscos Mug Club members retire their old mugs and are issued new ones. The old mugs are taken home, while the new mugs – with the owners’ numbers inscribed on the bottom – go into racks above the bar.

Here are my most recent mugs – the 2015 mug on the left and the 2016 mug on the right. Perks that go with Mug Club membership (which is limited to about 250 people and costs $60 a year) include an inaugural free first beer and larger portions of beer at reduced rates on subsequent visits over the following year.

As I told a USAF C-135 pilot seated next to me, it’s only slightly more exclusive than membership in the National Geographic Society (which you get when you subscribe to the magazine).

Charlie Parsons, my original Mug Club sponsor and mentor, and I drove down to Memphis in filthy rainy weather for the occasion.