“Mackerel & Moonshine”

In honor of my leaving for my annual vacation to Prince Edward Island exactly two weeks from today, I wanted to share an awesome anecdote from the Island. Our neighbor, a hale old boy in his 60s, told me this story last summer. C was a crotchety old man who lived nearby & I love this tale of an "old boys' night in" that A & B spent at his house.

A & B go over to C’s house with a bottle of moonshine. A says to C, “Try some of this shine.”
C roars, “I’m not drinking your shine.”
A pours him a glass and says, “Come on, just try it.”
C: “No, I’ll not be having any of your shine.”
A: “It’s all we’ve got.”
C: “Well, maybe I’ll just try it.”

The boys go on a tear & try to cook up some supper around midnight. They’ve got some mackerel they jigged earlier that day & want something to put with it. A says, “I want a cabbage." C roars, “You’re not getting my cabbage!” They go back & forth for a bit, then A wins & the cabbage goes into the pot with the mackerel and some potatoes. When it’s time to eat, they discover that C, a crabby old bachelor, only has 1 fork, 1 knife, and 1 spoon. They each grab one utensil and make do as they can.

In the morning, B stumbles home to his wife & says, “See if you can dig up some silverware for the poor old bugger.” She brings some over and C roars at her, “I don’t need any of your old silverware!”