Turbid

This weekend has been the first time in a long while that I've got out to bars on a weekend. The last time I did, I'm pretty sure it was back home during Christmas. I realized now tha I love the bar scene in New York City a lot more than anywhere else. The cheif reason: The Smoking Ban.

I have a lot of friends who smoke, and it doesn't bother me at all if they do it around me or in my car. However, in a small crowded room with poor ventilation, the habit becomes more of an annoyance. At the end of the night you have to make sure you shower and spray your jacket with febreeze so you won't make your house smell bad for the rest of the week. And taking a shower drunk is a very dangerous activity.

The first few times I went out to bars and clubs here in the city, I didn't really notice the absence of the second-hand haze I'm used to seeing in Quincy. That's because the lights are always very dim in these clubs for some reason. The biggest buyer of candles outside the Catholic churches must be all these trendy bars. But, I digress...

After a few outings, I realize that my jacket smells clean, my sheets smell clean, and my laundry smells . . . well . . . not like smoke. It was nice, but I think I took it for granted. That was until I went home for Christmas. I went out with some old friends to a bar we've been to ever since most of us were of age. My eyes watered, my throat closed up, and I was having trouble concentrating. It was like some sort of gas grenade had gone off. I couldn't understand it. Is it at all possible that New York City's air was cleaner than this bar? New York has millions of smokers, thousands of cars, hundreds of busses, miles of subways, and a few factories and power plants. How can I live in that environment, but still get taken down by a moderately smoky pub in the midwest?

It's a great feeling to not have to worry about smoke when you are going out. I know the smokers are pretty pissed about it, but it is pretty gross. Come on. Your fingers turn yellow and your hair smells gross.