This is how things work

(l to r)Assistant (to the) Regional Manager, RChard Rafaberr; Moonpie Coffee Cup; (not pictured: Lynda Carter, Vladmir Putin)

Here are the chronological events that led up to this photo (excluding years prior to 2001.)

1.) August 31, 2001: Furr's Supermarkets, Rick's employer, goes tits up. Rick is out of a job.
2.) Sept 11, 2001: Terrorists attack the United States. Rick is still out of work and lacking the distraction of a job to work through the shock.
3.) Sept 17th, 2001: Rick's then girlfriend, Debbie, is taking classes at TVI. She invites him to take an HTML class with her. Rick decides to audit it.
4.) Sept 26th 2001: Rick's friend Tom gives Rick his old Mac laptop, which Rick loads with copies of Photoshop and Illustrator that he retrieved from Furr's before the doors were shut (Not bootlegged -- reappropriated).
5.)Oct 12th, 2001: After learning basic HTML coding, Rick begins to build a Moonpie website. Using Photoshop and Illustrator, he creates a logo.
6.) November 3rd 2001: Still out of work, Rick realizes his labors are in vain -- He has no funding to pay web-hosting fees. There are clunky versions of free websites (i.e. geocities) but Rick doesn't have those mad coding skill necessary.
7.) November ? 2001: Last time Rick speaks to Vance for nearly 7 years.
8.) Rick uses Cafe Press to create T-shirts and mugs bearing the logo.
9.) Rick forgets the password, and really doesn't care anymore.
10.)Date unknown: Someone (possibly Google) creates Blogger (FREE way to host a website.)
11.) Rick creates several blogs using Blogger. One of the mentions Vance by name.
12.) December 2008: Vance, goofing off at work, Googles his name. Finds it on Rick's blog. They reconnect.
13.) Rick throws together the Moonpie Online blog using the logo he designed years earlier. At the same time, he creates a new Cafe Press store.
14.) Vance orders coffee mugs and beer steins from store.
15.) He sends a set to Rick. He posts a photo of himself outside the post office with the package.
16.) Rick gets them in the mail. Posts photo of himself drinking the inaugural cup of coffee.