"Nine, eight, seven ...".... A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 -- the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana -- began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year.... Although it's become an annual and renowned event at CU, this year's 4/20 celebration was different in some ways than in many previous years: The crowd was so large it migrated from the long-traditional site of Farrand Field to the larger Norlin Quad; festivities kicked off earlier than normal with daytime concerts; and CU police handed out zero citations.
Ah, yes...there's a time and a place for that...and it's called "college", eh? Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not going to advocate the use of illegal drugs. I'd be something less than honest, however, if I didn't own up to the fact that there was a time when they did in fact work pretty well for me. My own college experience was significantly enhanced by my occasional recreational use. Hey, I thought I was freakin' Jean-Paul Sartre when I was stoned. I was young and stupid, and now...well, young has long since let the building. If I have to, I'll put on my best "JUST SAY NO!!" face...and hope that no one notices the rank hypocrisy that would be involved in my doing that. This is a part of my past I can't change, and I'm not about to paper over. It happened, I made the decisions I did, and fortunately I came out whole on the other side. At this point in my life, I can look back and laugh at some of the things I did during my college days...and marvel that I never did hard time. More than a few federal laws went by the wayside...but then I was hardly the only one in that milieu engaging in the same sorts of activities.
I don't brag about my drug use, but if asked (politely) I'm fine discussing it. I have some mixed feelings about my recreational pharmaceutical experience, but when your best friend is the campus dealer...well, it doesn't take a Ph.D. to figure what happened next. I can look back and laugh about some of the uproariously funny phenomenally stupid things I did while I was fried...because there are times when I'm frankly surprised that I still have sufficient remaining brain cells to be able to tie my shoelaces- much less construct complete sentences. Perhaps the single dumbest thing was going to soccer practice seriously stoned off some high-grade ditchweed my brother (who was home on shore leave) had brought back from Asia. I would not hold this up as a sound decision, because...well, because it's not. As a goalkeeper, I was actually expect to stop balls that were kicked in my general direction. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop giggling, and every time someone launched a shot at me, I saw two balls. It sure seemed funny at the time....
Yeah, I was young AND stupid...emphasis on "stupid". One of the benefits of not having children is not having to somberly dispense advice like: "Before you light up, always make certain that you've stocked up on Doritos and Coke. Trust me, nothing will ruin a tight budget faster than trolling through a grocery story while you've got the munchies."
Of course, there are certain, um, pastimes which can be enhanced by...oh, sorry. I keep forgetting that this is a family show....
Just Say No, kids.... ;-)
