Remember the Nehi drinks that were distributed and bottled at Mancuso Bros. Bottling Plant? That’s when the ladies started dressing with their skirts “Nehi!” I’m surely glad that nobody ever named a drink “Waisthi!”
Mancuso Bros. was also the distributor of Jax beer. Jax beer was a big seller and very popular in those days through the 1950s. Nick Mancuso would go out with his trucks, make every stop and meet all the people. He was a good salesman. He was very jolly with his customers and everybody loved him. Charlie, a brother, made his rounds every night in the bars and restaurants. People would say that Charlie goes around and checks in, just to see who’s drinking Jax beer and who isn’t.
I was sitting at the bar in the Hub Club one night, next to Pete and Rock Guarisco. They were drinking beer, but it was not Jax beer. Just at that time, in comes Charlie. Pete and Rock hurried up and started putting empty Jax beer cans in front of them at the bar, pretending that they were drinking Jax. Charlie smiled and told Pete and McGill, the bartender, to treat everyone to a beer. Naturally, they put Jax beer in front of every customer. Charlie also drank a can of Jax beer.
About that time, Rock started talking to Charlie, distracting his attention, when McGill took Charlie’s Jax beer and replaced it with a Budweiser. McGill asked Charlie, “How’s the beer — cold enough?” Not knowing about the switch in beer, Charlie took a sip of the Budweiser and raised his can of beer around and said out loud, “This is the best beer that I have ever drank!”
McGill told Charlie to look at his beer. When Charlie saw that it was a Budweiser, he got so mad he threw the beer at McGill! Mose Solomon, who was sitting next to Charlie, laughed so much he fell off the bar stool!
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I knew an “ole coot” one time who told me that to make hair grow on a bald head, you had to let it soak in the rain for 20 minutes. Well, one day, he tried it and it started raining, so he went out into the yard and sat in the rain — he fell asleep for about one-half hour. Well, it was not hair that grew on his head, but grass grew over his grave.
HAPPY, SAD, RICH, POOR, OLD OR YOUNG
You are happy when you are rich and young.
To be sad, you have to be old and poor.
If you are poor and happy, you can be poor and sad.
Or if you are young, you can be sad and rich, or you can be sad and poor, or you can be old and poor.
But it would be nice if you are young, rich, and happy.
It’s bad to be poor, old and sad. I’m sure glad I’m happy.
* The End *