This is a blog post about a stupid coffee cup that has been sitting on the curb at the intersection of Plum and I-5 in downtown Olympia. This McDonald's cup has been sitting through rain, wind and traffic for more than four weeks! I took my first picture of it Jan. 16 after a couple weeks of driving by it.
What's the cup's secret? How is it staying upright in such odds? I have taken pictures of it each time I pull up to the traffic light; amazed it's still there. I get its cylinder-shaped body helps resist wind and that it's wax-lined innards make it somewhat impervious to rain, allowing the paper to remain intact, but something else is moving me to find out how it's still there. ...
How hasn't a hitchhiker or bum walked by and kicked it over? Why hasn't a curious creature of the night pawed it off its curb? Certainly the passing of hundreds of tires should somehow trigger a disturbance in the force and knock the cup over. Better yet, a do-gooder should have placed it in the recycling by now, taking care to remove the lid since it can't be recycled (natch).
It seems impossible that something as meaningless as a disposable paper cup has survived such harsh environments and such likely circumstances.
My kids have taken to throwing suggestions at me as to its endurance.
"Maybe it has rocks in it to hold it down," said my oldest.
Probable. But that just leads to another perplexing thought: How did it even get there? And if it does have rocks in it, for heaven's sake, why would someone put rocks in a McDonald's coffee cup and leave it on a curb next to the freeway?
"Maybe a homeless person needed a toilet," suggested my husband.
I will continue to be amazed and entertained by this tiny triumph for the cup, an underdog in the world of things that are actually important.
One of these days, I may even pull over and open the lid.
UPDATE: The McDonald's cup still stands as of the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 5.
UPDATE: The McDonald's cup lives as of 11 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5.
UPDATE SUNDAY, FEB. 9: The McDonald's cup survived a night of snowy weather.
MONDAY, FEB. 17: The McDonald's cup still stands, joining the Olympia community in celebration of President's Day. Some are dubbing the cup the Franklin "Cup" Roosevelt, after the longest serving U.S. president.
MONDAY, FEB. 24: Hitchhikers have no need for a lonely McDonald's Cup.
TUESDAY, FEB. 25: Down goes Frazier!
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26: We shit you not. On our way into downtown Olympia today we noticed another cup appeared on the opposite corner of the slain McDonald's cup. Son of McDonald's cup?
FRIDAY, MARCH 14: Remember the rain and wind we've been enjoying in the South Sound these past three weeks? Son of McDonald's cup has stood tall through it all. What the hell?