Mary Jane

(Place on page 76 - new paragraph after "sweeter to achieve").

After several weeks of riding together, Willie swung by for me like any other crisp autumn morning. We turned the block from my house and  he holds out a little greenish-looking cigarette for me to try.

"Wanna drag?" he offered.

"No thanks. I don't smoke cigarettes," " I replied, staring at the lit  thing like it was a King Cobra. . "I've never smoked before. Hey,  What's that funny smell?" I took a few sniffs  of the repulsive air before he explained.

"It's not a cigarette, Smitty. It's weed. Take one puff and see if you like it. Don't be a drag...take a drag!"

"Weed?," I repeated.  I remember the term from my brothers ( not that they ever used it). I also knew the weeds in the backyard were pretty annoying.

"C'mon, man!" Willie insisted. "Just one puff. Who knows? You may like it! If you don't , no big deal. At least you tried, right?"

He had a point there. I was out and about in the world now. I'm sure all the younger college kids smoked weed. Why not be cool?

"Okay, I'll try it," I reluctantly agreed.

"That's it! Go slow, man," Willie advised as he passed the cigarette, or, whatever the hell you call it, over to me. I had no clue what I was doing so I put the weed between my quivering lips and inhaled big time.

'Whoa!" Willie glanced at me as he drove the van. "You sure you never smoked before?"



Immediately I started coughing and wheezing, wheezing and coughing. It tasted awful, and I felt a burning sensation on my tongue and down my throat. The van seemed to spin. I imagined hearing the song "White Rabbit" on Willie's radio.

Willie started laughing until I began  spitting up green crap all over his van."Hey, watch that, Smitty! I just had the inside cleaned yesterday! Do you wanna drink?" he asked, holding up his half empty can of beer.

I waved off his brew, still hacking away. We stopped at a local Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru where Willie ordered me a drink.

"What kind do you want?" he asked as the attendant waited to take the order thru the intercom.

I couldn't talk yet, only hack. "Anything!"  I choked out.

"We'll take an orange juice,"he ordered. "Don't worry, Smitty...I got it," he said, paying at the window.

All the way to West Chester I sipped on the juice and coughed. Willie just shook his head. I guess he thought I was a real nerd. Better a live nerd than a dead one. I learned my lesson and never smoked pot again.

30 years later most states have legalized marijuana for medical use. I'm sure it works great for those who need it. If I ever use it for pain I'm sure I will have flashbacks to the 80s when I  first smoked weed and lived to tell about it.