The Wedding of Joe Porcocane
by paffydogstar
Paffy concludes that the “non-playing” at little joints in Nowhere Land is just a waste of time and energy.
Therefore he moves from Nowhere Land to Nowhere Beach Resort.
A talent agency hires him to play at the wedding of Joe Porcocane, whose family belongs to a ferocious mafia clan.
Paffy puts his Trincicles aside, because “Erst kommt dass Fressen, dann kommt die Moral” (First comes a full stomach, then comes ethics) and accepts the job.
“You never know. One thing leads to another!” is his witful thought.
However, the invisible contract containes an invisible clause that Paffy overlooked: Joe Porcocane and his bride had hired Paffy to provide them with a fun drowning experience during a collective suicide party, and they explicitly requested an ANT.
Paffy proves to be hopelessly inadequate… Morte sicura!
Il matrimonio del Porcocane.
Paffy decide di non sprecare più la sua energia né il suo talento nelle bettole in Terra di Nessuno.
Da Terra di Nessuno si dirige verso Terra di Nessuno-Lido.
Tramite un’agenzia di spettacolo viene ingaggiato per suonare al matrimonio di Joe Porcocane, il cui famiglia appartiene ad un clan mafioso feroce.
Ma Paffy mette i suoi Trincichi da parte, perché “Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral” (prima la pancia piena, poi la morale). “D’altronde”, ragiona, “Non si sa mai: una cosa porta all’altra!”
Invece, a Paffy è sfuggita una clausola invisibile nel contratto invisibile: Joe Porcocane e la sua sposa Margherita avevano ingaggiato Paffy per procurarli una bella esperienza di annegamento durante un suicidio di gruppo, ed a tale fine avevano richiesto esplicitamente un musicista con ANT.
Paffy risulta inadeguatissimo… Morte sicura!
“Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral” (German)
Quote from The Threepenny Opera by Berthold Brecht .
Meaning: Higher ethics are not of much use to people whose basic needs are not met.
Those were the original meanings from the Threepenny Opera, however the saying got a life of its own and now in the semiliterate public means also and primarily: Morals can wait until pockets are full.
Similar: It’s a dog-eat-dog world.
This quote proves that Paffy, although he is a dog, does have some ethical and moral doubts. But, as the story proceeds, we discover the meanig of the Spanish saying: “El hambre es muy mala consejera”, translated this would mean: “Hunger is a very bad advisor”.
My Dear Colleague
I appreciate your extensive treatise on the Brecht quote, and you are correct: Paffy has ethic awareness. As you know Western science has established, at some time in history, that only human beings are self-conscious, a quality that distinguishes them from animals. After man discovered his own reflection in the water he realized that he possessed four hands, and four hands can do more work than two. This reflective self-consciousness, which is by no means synonymous of “intelligence”, has developed into what we call “Mass Production” today. Animals are not self-conscious. They are still not able to recognize themselves in the reflection in the water, after thousands and thousands of times that they have studied that reflection. So no mass production for animals. They have to provide in their own needs, and survival being their primary preoccupation (Brecht) they cannot afford any ethics (Als twee honden vechten om een been gaat de derde er mee heen).
A dog, however, is a domestic animal. A domestic animal is trained to adapt to human domestic life. Ethics, like “ do not bite the hand that feeds you” are taught from the very beginning. With due respect, my dear colleague, you have stated the very obvious!
Prof. Von Holberg-Reutengrauscher
Professor in Androicaninology, Paffology and Ipaictechnology