Those crazy Texans!
As a tribute to my recent trip to Texas, I want to share a special Sunday tradition.
In Austin there is a bar called Jinny's Little Longhorn which has a special night: Chicken Shit Sunday. Every Sunday the tiny (and I'm talking maybe 60meters square) bar is packed with college students, professors, motorcycle enthusiasts, tourists, and a smattering of colorful locals. From about 5pm to the wee hours of the morning they have local bands perform and sell $1.50 long necks (Shiner Bock is a favorite Texas beer with Lone Star coming a close second). The music is pretty country but gives the place a very authentic feel.
Imagine a few slabs of wood constructed as a stage with a woman playing the violin (bluegrass style) a man on bass and another playing the smallest piano I've ever seen in my life. As the woman belts out her lyrics of broken hearts and memories of the past in a deeply southern twang the 3 burly women bartenders are scurrying to open as many bottles of beer they can to appease the crowd. One even cradles 6 bottles in one arm and pops off the tops with a simple flick of her wrist. The various neon signs add to the magic of the night as do the Harley gang members hanging outside and barbequeing hamburgers on the back lawn.
But really the highlight of the night is the raffle or lottery in which blue tickets each with its own handwritten number is sold for two dollars each.
What kind of lottery you may ask? Well, this is a game played three times during the night in which the family pet chicken is placed in a cage and encouraged to poop.
If you look closely in the pictures you can see the floor of the pen is divided into numbers.
Littered with bird seed the chicken happily eats while the crowd cheers her on, coaxing her towards their corresponding raffle ticket number. Once the chicken poops on a number that is the lucky winner and they take home the pot of money from the cost of the raffle tickets. This is the winning number:
Do you see the poop so elegantly highlighted by the wire of the pen? I think it's number 6 but I don't remember correctly after my fill of $1.50 beer.
And that my friends is Chicken Shit Sunday.
*disclaimer: the chicken was in no way harmed or hurt during the night and I can personally vow that she lives in a very large cage in back of Little Jinny's and is treated with the utmost respect and fed very, very well. There is no animal cruelty involved whatsoever.
In Austin there is a bar called Jinny's Little Longhorn which has a special night: Chicken Shit Sunday. Every Sunday the tiny (and I'm talking maybe 60meters square) bar is packed with college students, professors, motorcycle enthusiasts, tourists, and a smattering of colorful locals. From about 5pm to the wee hours of the morning they have local bands perform and sell $1.50 long necks (Shiner Bock is a favorite Texas beer with Lone Star coming a close second). The music is pretty country but gives the place a very authentic feel.
Imagine a few slabs of wood constructed as a stage with a woman playing the violin (bluegrass style) a man on bass and another playing the smallest piano I've ever seen in my life. As the woman belts out her lyrics of broken hearts and memories of the past in a deeply southern twang the 3 burly women bartenders are scurrying to open as many bottles of beer they can to appease the crowd. One even cradles 6 bottles in one arm and pops off the tops with a simple flick of her wrist. The various neon signs add to the magic of the night as do the Harley gang members hanging outside and barbequeing hamburgers on the back lawn.
But really the highlight of the night is the raffle or lottery in which blue tickets each with its own handwritten number is sold for two dollars each.
What kind of lottery you may ask? Well, this is a game played three times during the night in which the family pet chicken is placed in a cage and encouraged to poop.
If you look closely in the pictures you can see the floor of the pen is divided into numbers.
Littered with bird seed the chicken happily eats while the crowd cheers her on, coaxing her towards their corresponding raffle ticket number. Once the chicken poops on a number that is the lucky winner and they take home the pot of money from the cost of the raffle tickets. This is the winning number:
Do you see the poop so elegantly highlighted by the wire of the pen? I think it's number 6 but I don't remember correctly after my fill of $1.50 beer.
And that my friends is Chicken Shit Sunday.
*disclaimer: the chicken was in no way harmed or hurt during the night and I can personally vow that she lives in a very large cage in back of Little Jinny's and is treated with the utmost respect and fed very, very well. There is no animal cruelty involved whatsoever.
Labels: Texas
posted by avery at 2:55 PM
4 Comments:
Oh, Texas.
It's been a while since i've been back to my birthplace (San Antonio), but it certainly keeps a place in my heart.
Viva i Texani!!
that is hilarious! I want to play! hehe
Oh gosh - I am embarrased...but, I am not surprised - us Texans will do just about anything for a buck fifty beer (just about...)
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