This was supposedly the only paid endorsement the great man ever made. What do you suppose was coursing through his head when he wrote this letter? Probably a gallon and a half of free product. But did he work hard enough to deserve to drink it?
I mean, keeping it iced in the bait box with chunks of ice packed around it. That’s redundant. A guy who won a Pulitzer and a Nobel for literature should know that. And how about ale tasting as good after it’s swallowed as it does going down. What, you got taste buds in your tummy, Papa? This from the guy who said “The best ammunition against lies is the truth.”
Maybe old Ernie had just landed a big one when he wrote this and was tired all the way through. Or maybe he failed to heed his own first commandment: "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
Photo: Vintage booze ad taped in a store window. Key West, Florida. April, 2007
2/01/2008
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3 comments:
That's really funny, Dad.
Big Papa knew what he was saying. Ballantine Ale or skunk piss as some non aficinados refer to that deep strong yellow fluid encased in that dark green glass emblematic of another time. I have bonded with the young and the old when under the influence of that cool nectar. I fondly remember being locked out of a friend's house when I arrived too early. My son and I went to the local bodega on the edge of Park Slope and purchased two 48oz. We brown bagged them, ignored the heat and enjoyed ourselves while talking of Michaelangelo. We soon found ourselves etherized under a bright Brooklyn sky.
Ah, noinnocence, but did you dare to eat a peach?
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