Free The Bootlegger Blues by Drew Hayden Taylor Page A

type drink beer — I bought them beer and now they're ignoring me. Ungrateful dancing fools. My mother always warned us liquor would be the ruin of us some day. I didn't think she meant this way. I'm going outside for a smoke. Some of those dishes could use a good cleaning.
    Marianne grabs a knife and creeps up on her mother as if to stab her. Martha catches Marianne in the act. Martha doesn't bat an eye.
    MARTHA:
    And the pots.
    Marianne angrily throws the knife into the sink, splashing herself in the process. Martha exits.
    MARIANNE:
    ( Yelling ) Shit!
    Wiping herself, she walks over toward the radio and turns it on.
    ANNOUNCER:
    It's up to a blistering 28 degrees out there in cottage country. No relief in sight for the remainder of the weekend, so take a bit of advice from Kawartha Radio, grab a cold beer, jump in the lake, sit back and remember the good old days as you cry with me.
    The instrumental of "I've Got A Tear In My Beer" starts to play. As she does the dishes, she grabs a spoon and starts belting out the song in Ojibway. This is the real Marianne, a woman who wants to have fun, drink a beer, sing a song, and dirty plates, not wash them.
    MARIANNE:
    Sabiingway yaamgud maa ndi beerming pii mwiyaan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan.
    Pii shaangswi menkweyaan miigo gaazhi baashkdemyaan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan.
    Nwii gchi mnikwe kopii shkitooswaan ji maajiiyaan
    Gnamaa gonaa daa maajaamgodoon niw sabiingwyaashun
    Sbiingway yaamgad maa ndi beerming pii mwiyaan
    Miigo pan nsaanedmaan!
    Dibikong ngii gchi baamse, naasaab go wasbikong
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan.
    Endigo eshkwaabmaadziyaan epiichi nshinaadendmaan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan.
    Nga gchi minkwe go dopii maajiisnog sa iw nzidoshs
    Gnamaa gonaa gaawin ndaawiiskikaaksiin iw nde
    Subiingway yaamgad maa ndi beerming pii mwiyaan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan!
    Ngii gehi ktaamgoz ji gaadooyaan niw nsabiingwyan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan
    Kina niw ensaanigyaan aashgo ngii pugzikaagnan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan
    Geyaabi go nga mnikwe, gaawin dash g'gamkwenmisoon
    Gaawin pooch ngiishitoosiin ji nbaayaan iwgaabimiseg
    Sabiingway yaamgad maa ndi beering piimwiyaan
    Miigo pane nsaanendmaan!
    Martha walks in. Marianne stops in mid-song but Martha doesn't notice. Embarrassed, Marianne pretends she was drying the spoon.
    MARTHA:
    Marianne Elizabeth, I've made a mountainous decision. I refuse to go to jail for being sweet-talked by that Marjorie. Last time I allowed myself to be sweet-talked, you appeared. (Opens the refrigerator) Look at all this … (She spits the word out) beer. Who cares if I get drummed out of the Church Recreation Committee, or that the church doesn't get its new organ? What does it matter if I'm made a laughing stock of the village, and that fool Marjorie will hold it over my head for the rest of my goddamned life —
    MARIANNE:
    Mama!
    Marianne is astounded. Martha clamps her hands over her mouth then together in prayer and looks to the heavens.
    MARTHA:
    Oh my goodness, forgive me, Lord. It was the beer talking. Thank the Lord nobody heard me.
    MARIANNE:
    I did.
    Suddenly the door swings open and Andrew jumps through with a flourish. A good-looking, athletic young man, Andrew has been away at college for the last five months. He's Martha's favorite and knows it.
    ANDREW:
    Ta da!
    MARIANNE/MARTHA:
    Andrew!!
    Both Marianne and Martha rush to Andrew and cover him in hugs and kisses. He is pushed back by the rush. He enjoys it for a moment then starts to push them away, trying to salvage his sense of machismo. During all this, David slips quietly into the room, carrying a portable typewriter. David is Marianne's common-law husband, a stuffed shirt with an overly developed sense of office and life protocol. He is an Indian yuppie.
    ANDREW:
    Okay, that's enough, that's enough. ( To Marianne ) Geez, God only knows where your lips have been.
    MARTHA:
    You watch that mouth of yours, young man.
    MARIANNE:
    Remember, she's small but wiry.
    David manages a feeble