When it came to substance abuse my drug of choice was alcohol, but I can't do that anymore. I've been using cannabis since the State of Illinois made it legal, and it was fun to partake while I was still drinking, but I can't do that, anymore, either. I was always an edibles guy because smoking is a habit I never picked up.
Well, not too long ago I went from edibles to smoking cannabis. (And, if I have the day off the next day, I take an edible and then smoke up.) I was still in the process of packing up my things when I came across the lighter you see above, and I've been using that to light up. And now it's on its last legs, almost out of fluid. Suddenly I remembered why I have this thing in my possession.
Rewind almost 30 years. Well, more like 27. At any rate, almost all of my friends back then smoked cigarettes (and, you know, some other stuff, but mostly cigarettes). I was usually the only nonsmoker present at any gathering.
While I'm casting my thoughts back to that era, I thought it would be important to note that I was the youngest of those friends, but I looked older than they did, so guess who bought their smokes for them? Oddly enough, most of them look like their parents, and I look younger than they do. Weird.
Anyway, what happens if you talk to a smoker long enough? They pull out their pack of smokes and put one in their mouth. Then, if they're lucky, they get their lighter and then light up. If they're not lucky? They start patting their pockets and muttering curses under their breath. Then, whatever shit you were doing at the time, it grinds to a standstill until a lighter can be procured.
To save time I bought a lighter of my own, and I kept it around for whenever it was needed. More importantly, I kept my eye on it. How many times did a smoker subconsciously try to pocket it? Envision the beginning of Reservoir Dogs. The conversation about "Like a Virgin." How many times?
At some point I must have socked it away and didn't find it until a few months ago. Weird how it feels like an artifact now. And sad because it's almost done with its purpose, a purpose it should have served a long time ago. What is the life of a cheap 7-Eleven lighter? I'll bet it's not 27 years.
I already have its replacement, but I'm almost a pack rat. It's probably going to take a lot of strength to throw away this relic of the past.
The world is about to move on . . .
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