From: ????????????????
Subject: Where to Smoke, and Suffering Sphincters

Most of the time I'm pretty polite about not smoking around people who
find it unpleasant.  The only places that are universally OK are my own
turf (house and car), an occasional bar, and outdoors.  At other people's
homes, I'll light up only on the porch or deck unless I'm specifically invited
to smoke indoors.

These policies have for the most part avoided any hassles about when and
where I smoke.  Every so often, though, things get annoying.

Last March, I was waiting for a later plane at the Pheonix airport.  I
had an hour to kill, plenty to read, and a $3 Partagas cigar.  I care-
fully found the designated smoking area, found a chair distant from
most other smokers (I don't care for cigarette smoke, though I'm far from
being a Nazi about it), at lit up.

A party of five or so came up and stood _directly_under_the_"Designated_
Smoking_Section"_sign_.  They were complaining about the temperature, about
the late plane, about this, about that, and about my smoking.  Not directly
to me. You know. Gagging noises, "This SMOKE is AWFUL," and so forth.  These
clowns came to the one area in the entire lobby specifically set aside for
my hobby and started howling.  They could have moved twenty yards in
any direction and found a no-smoking spot.  But they preferred to @#$% and
moan.

I thought of confronting them, but I was in too good a mood.  I leaned back
and puffed harder.  I made smoke rings.  They got madder and went away.

IMHO,it's good for the psyche and the blood pressure to assume that you
will run into three or four (ahem) sphincters a day.  That way when you bump
into one, you just cross him off that day's list.  On good days, you still
have one or two left over.  That was the first time I had worked my way through
my whole day's ration before noon.


							phil

				Phil Gustafson, Graphics/UN*X Consultant
				{uunet,ames!coherent}!aimt!phil ????????????????
				1550 Martin Ave, San Jose, Ca 95126

(Sorry to leave so soon.  I have to catch the 2 PM Panaterigible....)


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