Sunday, February 13, 2011

CIGARETTES...YUM


"What's that smell? You smell like cigarettes!" Thanks to my mom, I was well known for smelling like Dorall Light 100's coming from my clothes. Cigarettes...my grandparents, dad, mom, uncles and aunts loved them so it was inevitable that I would also. When I was younger, mom didn't allow us to smoke...yet if we mentioned she shouldn't smoke near her kids she'd blow smoke in our face...guaranteed secondhand smoke high. I got a weird satisfaction from the 20 minute car rides to stores in the winter. Picture it, a Dodge Aries ticking (timing chain slightly off) it's way down the street, windows up, heat blasting and smoke having no place to escape, you'd think our car was a mobile steamroom or the set of a music video if you were looking in from outside. Have you ever noticed the older people get, they tend to switch to cheaper brands like Doral, Basic or GPC or if you're really hard up you switch to Bugglers and roll your own and look like a pothead. My dad was a Camel/Pall Mall guy and my mom Winston...until they made the switch to Doral...Dad eventually switched back to Pall Mall. When I smoked in 1992-1997 I was a Dunhill snob but settled for Dutch Treats, True and Winston. In recent years (when I get hard up for a smoke which is not very often) I find Marlboro Smooth 100's and the girly brand Misty satisfy my craving. What is it about Misty's that turn off men? They have great flavor. I don't really know where I'm going with this...Anyway, I was shocked to find that the price of a pack of cigarettes has jumped to $4 on average or $3.50 for generics. I've been told that the reason behind the price hikes is because they are unhealthy...So is Crisco and Coke but they stay the same...McD's has a dollar menu...Where the fuck was that dollar menu when I was starving and homeless in NYC in 1992? It was cheaper to get a pack of cigarettes than a double cheeseburger and a Coke back then...Amazing huh?...Nowadays it seems the people that can really afford cigarettes are rich enough to know better. Do I currently smoke? Not really. When I say not really I mean I'm not a smoker but I do occasionally get a craving that I gots to satisfy...just like when I need to pour myself a cup of pickle juice and enjoy.