As Homer and Bart happily steal garbage on trash night, they happen upon a large Tiki God leaning against a trash can outside a Polynesian restaurant. For Homer, it’s love at first sight. He brings the idol home and places it in the backyard. With some help from a natural gas line and a small candle, Homer rigs the Tiki God to breathe fire. Marge chastises him for making the potentially explosive device, and moments later, it topples to the ground and bursts into flame.

Homer runs off, taking refuge at Moe’s Bar. There, Barney accuses his fellow barflies of forgetting his birthday. Homer reminds Barney that he held a party in his honor at his home the previous Saturday. When Barney has no recollection of this, Moe places a videotape in a VCR to prove it really happened. Barney begins to realize that everyone views him as a drunken loser. To prove everyone wrong, he vows to quit drinking and take helicopter lessons that Moe bought him for his birthday.His words are greeted with laughter.

Despite his vow, Barney ends up back at Moe’s bar. When Homer reminds his friend about what he had said earlier, Barney begins sobbing and asks Homer for his help. Later, Homer and Barney attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting together.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Bart happen up a television commercial for a contest in which entrants create a new cover for the Springfield phone book. Excited, the children rummage through a closet until they find an old box camera. They then set out to find the photograph the perfect image for the phone book cover.

Meanwhile, a sobered-up Barney uses Moe’s birthday gift and begins his helicopter lessons. He lands the chopper near the Simpson home and coaxes Homer into going for a ride. As they soar above Springfield, Barney makes it known that he no longer intends to hang out at Moe’s. Homer takes this as an insult and, like an angry date, demands to be taken home.

Bart and Lisa make their way to a scenic outlook point, where they snap a picture of Springfield in all its glory. Unfortunately, a hot flash bulb ends up in the brush, and the area around it begin to smolder. Meanwhile, Barney pays an unexpected visit to Moe’s bar, intending to make amends for his disgraceful behavior over the years. But his mission is interrupted when a news broadcast relays word of a fire on Mount Springfield.

Homer tells his friends that Bart and Lisa are up on the mountain. He begs Barney to pilot his helicopter up to the mountain so his children can be rescued. Though Barney has never before soloed at night, he bravely flies the chopper toward the mountain.

At one point, he narrowly misses a bridge and makes a hard landing on a roadway, where a Duff Beer truck jackknifes and beer lands at Barney’s feet. Needing a fix, Barney reaches for a beer. But Homer snatches it away and guzzles all the alcohol before Barney can consume it. Thanks to Homer’s quick thinking, a sober Barney is able to take to the air once more. Drunken Homer climbs onto the chopper’s strut.

As flames close in around Bart and Lisa, a dangling Homer positions himself so his children can grab hold of his arms. The helicopter then flies to safety. Later, Marge shows Bart and Lisa the new phone book cover, which features a photo of Bart and Lisa as babies. It turns out that the old image is one Marge photographed years earlier, but remained undeveloped until Lisa and Bart found the camera. Marge then gives the children the contest prize:a bicycle.

Later, Barney and Homer enjoy lattes in Springfield park…where Homer pours some beer into his cup.