The Abbreviated Adventures of Mogey & Smush: 2026 Edition - Episode 8

"Do you think you could ever be an olympian?" Smush asked as the pals trudged down the snowy trail one evening.

"No doubt," Mogey replied. 

"Really? How would you do it?" 

"What about bobsleigh? That's a sport where my most elite talent - my ability to make any object on which I am sitting even more subject to the laws of gravity - would be put to good use." 

"No, no, no, Mogey," said Smush. "I wasn't speaking of the Olympic Games, I was talking about the food challenge down at Nick Argyros' ARRGH! Gyros!, the gyros so good they'll make you say ARRGH!"

"Oh?" Mogey responded, intrigued. "And what must one achieve to become an olympian at Nick Argyros' ARRGH! Gyros!, the gyros so good they'll make you say ARRGH!?"

"Consume three large gyros and three orders of lamb fries in twelve minutes without saying 'ARRGH.'"

"Well, it'll take some restraint," said Mogey, "especially the twelve minutes part, but I think I can do it. Especially if Nick lets me have a quick snack beforehand. Heck, all olympians have to make sacrifices, right? Let's go for it!"

The Abbreviated Adventures of Mogey & Smush: 2026 Edition - Episode 7

"What've you got there?" Mogey asked, gesturing at the long paper bag cradled in Smush's arm.

"A medium-bodied pinot noir," his pal replied. "Don't you know Mr. and Mrs. Oakenbock are major oenophiles?"

"Smush!" Mogey scolded. "You know I'm not judgmental about what people get up to in the privacy of their own homes." 

"No, Mogey - it means they're obsessed with wine. And you'd best pretend you are too! We need everything to go perfectly tonight to convince the Oakenbocks to sell us their back pasture." 

"Ah yes," Mogey said dreamily, "it's going to be donkey heaven out there." 

The pals reached the Oakenbock estate and were admitted merrily by Mrs. Oakenbock. "Oh, please," she said, bustling down the front hall, "call me Boken."

"Boken Oakenbock?" Mogey queried. Smush stomped on his pal's foot. 

"You boys have a seat with my husband while I pour some of this delicious wine," Mrs. Oakenbock said. 

"Welcome, welcome," beckoned Mr. Oakenbock from a large sectional couch. "Please, call me Hoken." 

"Hoken and Boken Oakenbock?" Mogey exclaimed. Smush stomped on his other foot.

"Indeed," said Hoken Oakenbock as he accepted a glass of wine from his wife and took a sip. "Delightful!" he announced. Mogey and Smush sampled their own glasses. 

"Grapey," Mogey agreed, with a sputtering cough.

"A fellow vino enthusiast!" Hoken responded, clapping Mogey on the back. "What's your favorite bottle, young man?" 

"I would have to say..." Mogey began, when he caught sight of Smush widening his eyes significantly and remembered the seriousness of the situation, "Baja Blast?"

The Abbreviated Adventures of Mogey & Smush: 2026 Edition - Episode 6

"Let's cross the river at the old stone bridge, yeah?" said Mogey as the pals walked down the wagon track toward town.

"The old stone bridge?" Smush queried. "It'll take twice as long! The Barnabas Bridge is the fastest route." 

"I know," Mogey replied, "but I don't want to run into Hippie Steve." 

"He does enjoy hanging out on the Barnabas Bridge," Smush acknowledged, "but he's not so bad... just walk right past him."

So Mogey and Smush made their way to the newer, more wooden bridge named for Bill "American Fudge" Barnabas. Sure enough, sitting cross-legged in the center of the span was a man with a long reddish-gray beard and long grayish-red hair. His locks - they were red and gray, primarily - were held back by a flowery headband, and he was draped in loose clothing that consisted of either frayed robes, burlap sacks, or a designer sweatsuit. 

Mogey and Smush did their best to keep their eyes straight ahead, but as they passed on either side of Hippie Steve, he spoke up:

"Taste the rainbow... if you know what I mean." The statement was accompanied by much waggling of eyebrows.

"Just ignore him, Mogey," Smush said. But Mogey couldn't resist.

"No, Steve, what do you mean?"

"You never... tasted the rainbow, brother?" 

"What are you talking about?" Mogey asked. 

"Check it out, man," said Hippie Steve. His eyes darted in either direction to check the coast was clear, and then he pulled from the folds of his clothing a king size bag of skittles candy.

"What do they have, like, hallucinogens on them or something?" Smush asked.

"No way, dude! A very mellow fellow from the Wrigley Corporation offered me 20 bucks and all the skittles I can eat if I tell everyone who crosses this bridge to 'taste the rainbow.'"

"Hippie Steve is part of the corporate machine?" Mogey exclaimed.

"Don't judge, man," said the cross-legged man. His eyebrows began to waggle again. "Hippie Steve needs cash for... y'know... hippie stuff."