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| Cornelis de Man Chess Players ca. 1670 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest |
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| Joost van Geel The Queen of Hearts ca. 1660-70 oil on canvas Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow |
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| Frans van Mieris The Doctor's Visit 1667 oil on panel Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| Gerrit van Honthorst The Favorable Fortune ca. 1617-19 oil on canvas Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence |
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| attributed to Jan van Wyckersloot Allegory of the Card Game on the Cradle ca. 1683 oil on canvas Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Gerard ter Borch Glass of Lemonade ca. 1660-70 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Gerard ter Borch Music Making ca. 1668 oil on panel Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio |
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| Gabriël Metsu Young Woman composing Music 1662 oil on canvas Mauritshuis, The Hague |
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| attributed to Johannes van Bronchorst A Concert before 1656 oil on canvas National Museum, Warsaw |
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| Bartholomeus van Bassen (interior) and Esaias van de Velde (figures) Festive Company in a Grand Interior ca. 1622-24 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Pieter Codde Merry Company with Masked Dancer 1636 oil on panel Mauritshuis, The Hague |
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| Jan Steen Merrymaking in a Tavern ca. 1674 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| Adriaen van Ostade Interior of Peasant Cottage 1668 oil on panel Royal Collection, Great Britain |
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| Adriaen van Ostade Peasants Drinking ca. 1676 oil on panel Dulwich Picture Gallery, London |
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| Adriaen van Ostade Buying Fish ca. 1669 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
The Bottle Gatherer
"Bottle gatherer, what do you hope to gain from this gathering of the discards of other people's merrymaking, beyond the few cents you'll accrue?"
"I will enjoy the echo of their celebrating. And besides, the giant snake-head of the bottle bank is at least a block away. I am helping them."
"And does that offer you a pleasure in these days of random mass shootings in bars and music venues?"
"Any bottle that has drops of wine in it and no drops of blood pleases me."
"Do you believe in God, my friend?"
"I am not your friend, good Sir, although I wish you well. And I'll need at least a year to answer your question."
"Fine then, tell me, do you differentiate between green, brown, and colorless bottles?"
"No more than the skin colors or hair colors of our citizens."
"Can I help you, for no recompense, to bring the bottles to the big metal snake?"
"Ah, kind sir, I thank you, but some journeys are better taken alone."
– Matthew Sweeney (2017)