A cowboy walks into a bar in Sweerwater, orders
three Buds and sits in the back room, drinking a
sip out of each one in turn. When he finishes
them, he comes back to the bar and orders three
more. The bartender approaches and tells the
cowboy, "You know, a mug goes flat after I draw
it, they would taste better if you drank one at a
time." The cowboy replies, "Well, you see, I have
two brothers. One is in Australia, the other is in
Dublin, and I'm in Texas. When we all left home,
we promised that we'd go to the local bar and
have a drink together every Wednesday. So I
drink one for each of my brothers and one for me."
The bartender admits that this is a nice custom,
and leaves it there. The cowboy becomes a
Wednesday night regular in the bar, and always
drinks the same way --- orders three mugs and
drinks them in turn.
One day, he comes in and orders two mugs. All
the regulars take notice and fall silent. When he
comes back to the bar for the second round, the
bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your
grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on
your loss."
The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment,
then the light dawns and he laughs. "Oh, no,
everybody's just fine," he explains, "It's just that
my wife and I joined the Baptist Church in
Sweetwater and I had to quit drinking . . .
hasn't affected my brothers though."