Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.
Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.
This is an excerpt from a longer novel, Lady Slings the Booze (which annoyed my a bit when I discovered it after I bought it), but it's a piece that stands pretty well on its own. In fact, some reviews I read claim it may even be better this way, being a tighter, more focused narrative. It's part of Robinson's Callahan's series, or at least Callahan-adjacent depending on how strict your definition is. It's a pretty good science fiction story, with lots and lots and side-tracks and puns. Some of the subject matter isn't politically correct these days, but it's a fun story with emotionally-rich and extroverted characters.... but I suggest the full version.
As with all of Spider Robinson's book, I felt this one was excellent! If you want to read an interesting and funny Series, Callahan's is an excellent place to start!