Irish Lent

[warrior1]

An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry , walks into the pub and

promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the

man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.

An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This

happens yet again...The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers

at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who

Orders Three Beers.

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town.

"I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order

three beers?"

"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers, and one

went to America , and the other to Australia . We promised each other that we

would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up

the family bond."

The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the Man

Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the

hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours

them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening. He orders

only two beers...The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of

one of the brothers.

The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of

all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You

know-the two beers and all.



The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that

my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, meself, have decided to

give up drinking for Lent."

[Old Troop]

1. That is just excellent!!