Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A Conversation

In front of the Portland Modern Art Museum, I'm clipping the lit tip off a half cigarette before going in (Yes, I smoke, okay? Just shut up) because I'm the sort of cheapskate who saves half cigarettes for later since I can rarely finish a whole one and the fuckers are like six bucks a pack. A guy walks up to me, rather clean-cut looking and not the usual smelly hippie type:

Guy: Can you spare an extra cigarrette?
Me: (holding up clipped half cigarrette) Nope, this is it. (I'm also the sort of asshole that doesn't give cigarrettes to people who ask on the street because one 20th of six bucks is too much to spare on losers)
Guy: (pointing to clipped half cigarette) Can I have that then?
Me: No.
Guy: I'll give you a hit of crack. (holds up crack pipe-- at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was because I've never seen one in real life)
Me: No, thanks.

The scary thing is that guy wanted a cigarette more than he wanted crack. Maybe I should have just given it to him.

4 comments:

siobhan said...

That's funny. Wouldn't happen in Turkey

Stranger said...

In Turkey, I give people cigarrettes when they ask. I don't know why, but it doesn't make me mad there and it happens so rarely anyway.

In America (when you used to be able to smoke indoors), we'd never leave our packs out on a table because every passing loser would try to bum one. Doesn't happen in Turkey, but cigarettes aren't 6 bucks a pack there either...

siobhan said...

I felt the same when I smoked. In the UK cigarettes were so expensive, you'd resent doling them out. Then I felt really generous when I came to Turkey, 'you want a cigarette, of course, let me buy you a pack'. Of course the old cigarette consumption went up 3-fold.

entrailicus said...

Nicotine is one nasty addiction. I'll stick to the Efes.