The Cowboy

A cowboy at a bar in Pecos, Texas orders three mugs of Lone

Star 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 tells him, "You know, a mug goes flat after I

draw it. It would taste better if you bought one at a

time."

The cowboy replies, "I have two brothers. One is in Alpine,

the other in Fredericksburg. I'm in Pecos. When we left

home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the

days we drank together. I drink one for each of my brothers

and one for myself."

The bartender tells him it is a nice custom. The cowboy

becomes a regular, and always 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, "We don't want to

intrude on your grief, but we wanted to offer our

condolences on your loss."

The cowboy looks quite puzzled for a moment, then a 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 and

I had to quit drinking... Hasn't affected my brothers

though."