One evening an Irish fellow enters a stateside pub and orders 3 pints of stout. The bartender pours the 3 pints and the Irishman carries them to a nearby table. He takes a sip out of one glass, then another, and finally the third. He works back and forth between the glasses, one sip at a time until they are all empty.
When the Irishman goes back up to the bar for another round, the bartender says, "Sir, I couldn't help but notice that you drank all the pints a bit at a time. If you just drink them one at a time the beer will stay fresher and be more enjoyable."
To this the Irishman replied, "Oh, well.... Let me give you an explanation for why I drink them this way. Back when I lived in Ireland my 2 brothers and I would all gather at the Pub on Friday evenings and hoist a few pints together. When we went our different ways, we vowed that we would still "get together" in spirit and on Friday nights wherever we were we would go to the local Pub and have 3 pints in commemeration." Upon hearing the explanation, the bartender thought this was a great thing and willingly poured the 3 pints for the Irishman.
Over the following months, all the patrons got to know the Irishman rather well and, true to his word, he would arrive Friday evenings to have his 3 pints. It got to the point where practically everyone at the Pub knew him and the origins of his odd drinking ritual.
About a year later, on a Friday evening the Irishman as usual arrived at the Pub. The bartender reached for 3 pint glasses and Irishman stopped him, saying that he need only pour 2 pints. At this point the entire pub came to a standstill. The bartender, somewhat in a state of shock, slowly poured the 2 pints and set them down in front of the Irishman. As the Irishman pulled out his wallet to pay for the pints, the bartender said, "I don't mean to intrude or anything, but... how did it happen?"
The Irishman looked at him with a puzzled look for a moment and then smiled. He replied, "Oh! No.. No.. Nothing! Everything's fine! I just quit drinking, that's all!"
