Outrage in White
As you know, I have been in the land of snow white the past several days. Colorado is great if you are a bear, so you can sleep through all the misery. Yeah, I know. You can ski.
I’m like the old football coach who said three things happen when you pass the football, but I’m applying it to skiing, and all of them are bad. The other day, one of the best-known skiiers in the world killed himself going down a slope filled with rocks. He was 26 years old.
Now, why on earth would you ski on a slope with rocks?
I’m told the answer is that this is something this particular bloke liked to do. Like I enjoy my pipes. Voila! or Touche!
Anyway, as I was driving about the other day here in the land of white, trying my best to keep from skidding into the ditch or to other drivers, I noticed a couple of geezers standing outside a tobacco shop, smoking. I asked my daughter about that ridiculous scene. It was 20 degrees in the shade.
She said, “Oh, Dad, you can’t smoke anywhere inside a structure in Colorado.”
Are you serious? You have to freeze your buns off to smoke outside of a smoke shop?
“As far as I know,” said my daughter, a non-smoking, rock-climbing, skiing, snow-boarding sort of gal.
Now, I ask you, is that scene an outrage or what? Unlike the good reporter that I am, I have not yet checked with the smoke shop to find out if what my daughter tells me is the straight of it, but just seeing those old guys standing outside, shivering like constipated squirrels made me feel a sense of rage.
If you can’t smoke inside a tobacco shop, then, pray tell, where do you go? Certainly not outside in freezing weather! Surely we have more humanity than that.
But, I digress. This is the land of the fit nuts. They love skiing down slopes and bashing themselves into rocks or trees. The above mentioned skiier died of blunt head trauma the news story said.
At least the old smoking geezers don’t have to worry about blunt head trauma. Unless they slip on ice, of course.
I’m sorry, but in my view, the world has lost its cotton-pickin mind.
Non illegitimus carborundum
Greetings,
I live in Colorado. Parker, to be exact, about 20 miles SE of Denver. In every tobacco shop I visit, smoking is allowed. In fact, all the stores have a lounge area. The Colorado anti-smoking law specifically exempts “retail tobacco shops” from the restrictions.
I don’t know about the two old guys smoking outside, but perhaps it’s a city ordinance. If it was in Boulder, probably so. The hot tip…STAY OUT OF BOULDER! It’s a real Granola town – full of fruits, nuts and flakes.
Smoke on,
Craig A. Cooper
Cooper Pipes
PipeandPouch.com
Your daughter is completely misinformed. I can and regularly do smoke inside of my local pipe store. People are not allowed to smoke inside of restaurants and bars, just like most states.
You should have done more research into Colorado before proclaiming its residents inhumane on top of calling the state a “misery.”
I’ll no longer subscribe to updates from this site.
The scene you describe is truly sad. It makes no sense to not exempt tobacco shops and cigar bars from these bans. The only reason I can think of outside of total prohibition from smoking, is that the exemption would create more cigar bars and smoke shops to accommodate smokers – can’t have that. In the Washington State there has been a smoking ban in place since 2005. Now the only cigar bars left are on Indian Reservations. So if ever in Tacoma, WA, Smokey Joe’s Cigar Lounge down the road in Fife is the place of refuge and the Seattle Pipe Club Meets there on the second Wednesday of the Month.
James:
Sorry you feel that way. Part of the piece was clearly in tongue in cheek. The rest of it was just to say that in Boulder, CO, I sure saw two fellows shiverying outside a retail tobacco shop. I hope you come back to us at some point. Most of the time, I write about crazy tobacco laws and the politicians who dreamthem up and then pass them.
I hope you will forgive me for trying to have a little fun occasiionally.
As I said in the piece, again tongue firmly in cheek, I did not follow through like a good reporter, and you always get burned that way. But if you will note from another comment, Boulder is a little different place.
Hope you will rejoin us. We are not all that bad at this reporting game.
Best,
Fred Brown
Editor
Fred,
I say no harm, no foul. As a marginalized group you always expect the worse. I am happy for James that he can enjoy smoking in his local pipe store. It is also great to be proud of where you live. However, it doesn’t change the fact that those exemptions can be taken away at any time. Hopefully James has other sites he monitors to make sure that he won’t have a rude awakening at some point in the future when he attempts to light up in his neighborhood tobacco shop. Cheers.
George S:
Thanks, buddy. I appreicate the supoport. You are so right. One day we all might awaken to find that our tobacco rights have been snatched away. As soon as I return home, I’d like to put you in my blogroll, if you agree.
Thanks again.
Fred Brown
I think James took this too personally. Hell, this whole world is upside down! Everything that was once right is now wrong and everything that was once wrong is now right. I’ve been reading your reporting since the beginning and I had no problem with your intent. Keep up the great work! I visit everyday.
I suppose since I am both an avid downhill skier and pipe smoker I am really in a figh risk category? How about the fact that I smoke my pipe whilst I ski down double-black diamond runs? to mitigate the obvious dangers of said activity, i do the following:’
1. I do not inhale!
2. I never drink alcohol while skiing!
There, that should take care of it don’t you think?
Captain Bob
George:
Got you in my links now. Thanks for the note about Senaca Indians. I’ll work on that one.
Fred Brown
Thanks Fred for placing me in your links. I just posted a link to an article from The Smoker’s Club concerning Colorado and extending the smoking ban to tobacco shops in Lakewood, CO. Maybe James will rejoin us in attempting to defend our rights as pipe smokers.