Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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I just received a St. Pat's Day bit of humor from a Choctaw/Irish pal. It's an oldie but a genuine goodie that I want to share with all my friends and relatives of Irish descent. It's also to celebrate my reconnection with "St. George" (at least that's how my mother regarded him).

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

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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 townspeople. "I don't mean to pry but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"

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

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The bartender and the whole town were taken with this answer and soon the "Man Who Orders Three Beers" became a local celebrity and source of pride to the village, 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.

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The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all of course, want to offer our condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know - what with the two beers and all...."

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The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that me two brothers are alive and well. It's just that me, me-self, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

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