You can't be shy with the Unenlightened. They will laugh, they will look at you sideways, maybe a shade of pity behind their stares. Stand tall, be proud.
I'm not shy. I will ask anyone, including people I've just met. People who know nothing of the Society. If anyone within earshot says they are going on a trip, I will ask them to get me some tins.
And they just might. I tell them about Us. I mention the low low cost of a tin or two, and how those few euros, or yen, or pesos, or lira, or rupees is a small price to pay to see the smiles that will emanate from every part of my head.
Most people will forget as soon as you walk away, but those that know You, and want to see You smile from every part of Your head, will remember. And if they don't remember the first time, well, hopefully it's a long life, and the next time they go on a trip and you ask them, maybe they will remember.
My Mom really likes to see my whole head smile and she just got back from Turkey.
Look at those round tins!!
And here is a fine example of what I'm talking about, my friend Mr. Stone Finger does not enjoy the finer nuances of tinned sardines, but he is a Level 3 wine geek and foodie and spends his vacations meeting elderly men and looking at their vineyards. In the beginning good always overpowered the evils of all man's sins, no wait, sorry, Mötley flashback. In the beginning I would ask Stone and he would say "Yeah right." Then I asked again before he went to Italy and he brought me back a few delicious tins. Now he has returned from Spain and Portugal. I Said God Damn.
Is that the infamous Ramón Peña?!?
So, yes there seems to be a lesson or a moral or a bit of gloating going on here.
Don't be shy about Your Membership in Our Subculture. If someone is going on vacation, a family member, a co-worker, someone You met in a bar before a baseball game, hit em up. You might have to explain Your weakness for a fine tin, just tell them about the Sardine Society, but say it loud, the guy two stools over might be a Member, might even be Me.
Oh, and be sure and tell them to check those tins. No carry ons.
6 comments:
My smuggler just returned from the Caribbean. He brought back some rolled tobacco products. Do you think I'm going to waste his skills on canned fish?
Nice haul... it's always interesting to see the packaging. I like the one with the weird decanter that looks like it's being featured as part of Maoist propaganda. Also, the elder fish skelleton carrying a cane has to be one of the great anti-mascots.
For Sardines in Portugal, this place drips with old-school awesome:
http://www.thelisbonconnection.com/conserveira-de-lisboa-the-lisbon-cannery-portugals-favorite-fish-nostalgic-power/
I love the well-quaffed women who do nothing but sit next to the cash registered wrapping tins all day long.
BTW, anyone actually in The Society doesn't need to be shown how to beg for overseas tins. ;-)
Just noticed the pickled sardines. Sounds interesting.
Next holyday trip : Gelibolu, land of round sardine tins and turkish delights ! Gelibolu was the last sardine city to be invited in Douarnenez (Britanny) for the (dead) annual sardine festival…
Did you try the Ramón Peña tin? How was it?
Not yet, but soon, very soon.
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