xxdr_zombiexx

Stoned Afternoon

A day in the life of an American Pothead
Doc Zombie | Saturday, February 28, 2004 | Marijuana.com

I had been out of weed for a couple days. But about 10:30 on this Saturday morning I got a call from a person telling me I should come see them. So I went.

When I got there the person was holding what was said to be an ounce of pot.

I could tell immediately it was a sort I never - never - get to see, let alone smoke.

"Goddammit!" I snapped.

I snatched it from him and looked at it under a light: 2 huge, perfect, fluffy, dense, beautiful buds. Centerfold quality.

He looked at me puzzled.

"Why is this sh*t more expensive than gold?" I demanded to know, rhetorically. "I should be growing this for free at my home" - something I never do for fear of forfeiture, harassment, ruination, imprisonment or being shot to death. Marijuana is terrorism, you know.

"$400 an ounce" he said, adding "It was grown outside". So ridiculous, but that is marijuana prohibition.

I know next to nothing about growing marijuana or strains or any of that stuff, but this, to me , looked like a fine example of Indica variety, was very dense, not a seed to be found, sticky, good-smelling, but without a strong skunky odor. It is well-cured and tough. I use a tiny pair of scissors to clip of the little bits that I savor.

I snagged an eighth of an ounce - part of one bud stick, about 4 grams - and went to a friend's home.

We smoked 2 good hits each from a glass sherbler he has and took off for a restaurant. It was nearly 1 in the afternoon and neither one of us had eaten yet that day, so this was nothing to do with "munchies". We were hungry.

It was a glorious sunny day. Spring is on the way and I am happy to bid adieu to the weird season here called "winter". Atlanta is about to explode in bloom: it's great here in the Spring.

I have recently turned on to Vietnamese food and so we went to a hole-in-the wall sort of place in Atlanta called Pho #79.The place is simple, inviting, and comfy. This was the second time I had been there and I realized I would probably become a regular. We ordered some summer rolls to stave off hunger pangs while we perused the menu.

Vietnamese restaurants remind me of Mexican restaurants in that there are 3000 things on the menu. I am totally unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine AND an example of "Adult Attention Deficit disorder" so the menu is a challenge...especially with this extremely stoney weed.

We had settled on "Bun thit Nuong" with char grilled shrimp by the time the summer rolls had arrived.

They make excellent summer rolls at Pho # 79, not that they are so difficult. I have begun making my own. But compared to theirs, mine look like a child has made them. Theirs are art.

Example of Summer Rolls | Recipe

The skins of summer rolls are transparent and the shrimps were perfectly arranged, the leafy vegetables - mint, lettuce, and cilantro - were masterfully folded together, an idea I shall steal for my own. The summer rolls rocked. My talkative friend was noticeably quiet, terrorizing the roll with a purpose. He loved the dipping sauce.


Bun thit Nuong is served cold, except for the shrimp. It comes to the table in what in Georgia would be called "a big-ass bowl" - it's huge. It is a mass of rice vermicelli, lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber slices - which I normally despise - peanuts, and stuff I just don't recognize. It, too, is a festive work of many different colors and shapes.

We forgot to ask for forks.

I suppose we felt a bit self-conscious asking for them after the waiter left, maybe we were too stoned...I don't know. We quickly elected the chopsticks at the table and set forth on what seemed to quite a impossible task. 2 old white dudes wrestling chopsticks trying to eat gigantic foreign salads full of long skinny noodles. Talk about standing out in a crowd.

Stoned or not, we managed to work the chopsticks and munched on absolutely excellent food. Wonderful and different flavors with each bite we managed to get into our mouths.

I have loved Chinese food for years. Until only recently I would eat it at least 4 times a week or more. It is really hot in Georgia in the summer and I don’t want to eat hot foods, and have never been much of a salad eater. I make an effort to eat some healthy foods, but am guilty as sin for eating fast food as well. That is coming to an end. Vietnamese food seems to be the future for me.

Summer rolls and this 'Bun" are served cold and aside from shrimp or grilled pork (which I use in my summer rolls), this seems to be the best-tasting healthiest food I have even seen. Being delcious and served cold makes it a natural for hot climates.

I have begun to wonder why I have never considered Vietnamese food before. I have considered suing my friends who have known about it but never mentioned it.

The weed has a quality we used to call "creeping" a long time ago. I don't notice it with most of the weed I ever get. This stuff is very "creepy": the buzz seems mild but builds and builds and then you realize..."Damn.. I'm stoned." It lasted quite a while as well.

When we were finished - and stuffed beyond belief - I got the idea of teasing the waiter. I motioned for him to come over and, as expected, he was ready to give us the check.

I pointed at the empty bowls and said "two more, please". I waited for a moment. The waiter looked incredulous and asked "two more"? Then I told him I was just kidding and that we were so stuffed and asked politely for the check. Waiter man about fell on the floor laughing. His fellow waitstaff started laughing too. It was altogether a nice time.

2 huge bowls of killer food, 2 Summer rolls, 2 cans of coke - just less than $20.00. A killer afternoon, bright blue skies, good conversation, excellent stoney buzz AND cracking up the waitstaff - priceless.

We went on our separate ways and I drove over to another friend's home to hang with him and his wife for awhile, and share some of the killer bud with them.

That was also a great time. We smoked a little - because a little is all that it takes with this stuff. My buddy told me about a book he is reading now called The DaVinci Codes.

We had a rather in-depth talk about the history of the Catholic Church, the Council of Nicea and the splitting of the Bible in the "Bible" and the "Apocrypha", and the subsequent efforts put into hunting down the now-banned pre-Nicea Bibles.

According to the DaVinci Codes - a work of fiction apparently based on extensive studies of Catholic Church history - the Holy Grail is a collection of pre-Nicea Biblical writings, including many in Jesus own handwriting. Probably not the most stereotypical stoned conversation.

I'll wax blunt and arrogant for a moment: I am smart, my friend is smart, and his wife is very smart. We all smoke pot. We are nothing like the propaganda image put out by our federal government: we are nice people and excel at our works. We are highly literate, and remain literate while high. There are millions of people like us.

Oh....and we vote, too.

Anyway, they had to get busy doing work and then had to go to other friends homes - I am really quite the loner while they are the epitome of social. I broke them off some of the killer so they'd have some to enjoy the rest of the day, hopped in the car and cruised home. Sharing is good.

Again, it was a fabulous day: warm, sunny, not a cloud. I opened the sunroof and the driver window, cranked up "White Zombie - Devil Music Vol. 1" and rolled contentedly through Atlanta. Thunderkiss '65, baby. Life is good.


Gimme that, gimme that, ow!

Later I washed the car , which was very dirty after our little flirtation with snow here 2 days ago. I smoked a tiny bit more of that herb and got busy.

I also put black-eyed peas and some brown rice to cook on the stove. In the peas I put some smoked chicken, a banana pepper, some garlic, salt, and green onions. That all cooked while I cleaned up the car. Every time I went into the house, it smelled wonderful.

I use chore time like this to contemplate things. I appreciated the killer day. I was thankful for how good I have it despite all the nonsense I have had to deal with, and how poorly things are going in this country currently, as well as in other countries. If anything is true, then it would seem to be the case that I have little to complain of in this life when I think of all that I know is going on in the world. It's good to be humble, really.

So, that was my afternoon of being what the US Federal Government wants to call a "terrorist-supporting drug-legalizing, menace to society". Supporting the local economy, talking intelligently with friends, sharing, cooking, and overall being responsible while having a great day.

Marijuana prohibition is stupid - I am not.
I know some people would probably have their panties in a wad because I drove with marijuana, but that is largely stupid too. I wouldn't do something to hurt myself, hurt others, or damage this damn car which I bought becasue my jobs - I have 2 - both require a lot of driving.(I bought something I expect to last 12 years or until oil production ceases).

Sure, other people may not be as responsible as I am, but why should my freedoms - and those of millions of others - be impinged upon because of the potential carelessness of others. Drunk driving and legal alcohol are guaranteed to be much more of a menace than I - and the other said millions - would be. Some people are even MORE responsible than me - why should they be restricted?

Marijuana prohibition is one the biggest, oldest, and ongoing corporate crimes. It is built on lies, distortions, threats and billions and billions of your tax dollars. It doesn't protect you from anything.

It makes the ridiculous puritans, who control much of our governments functioning, happy and it eliminates a giant source of competition for the "extractive Industries" - Oil and chemical companies: Big-spending friends of the Tyrannical Puritans. That is the short answer to my rhetorical question "Why is good marijuana more expensive than gold?"

Because it is illegal, and for no other reason.

Ask yourself - "Why - exactly - is it illegal?".

__________________
Torture Good, Healthcare Bad, Marijuana Evil.

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel

Spiraldancer

Hi. I'm a new member here, and you can't imagine how glad I am to see so many "mature" people with similar values to my own. It feels like I've been living in a bubble for years. I mostly smoke by myself, or with my kids and their friends, and rarely get the pleasure of sharing this with other adults.

I too am responsibility bound, and have never faltered from that path due to my enjoyment of a little harmless herbal refreshment. Sure, other things have gotten me "down" on occassion - health issues, depression, etc.. But weed's been my savior, not my downfall. I've never understood that rationale in the government's argument - that marijuana makes a person irresponsible, lazy and just plain "bad". I'm a good person. I work a full-time job, and am respected by my co-workers (who have no idea that I smoke). I've raised my kids more or less successfully (they're 19 and 17 yeard old, so have yet to really "prove" themselves in this world). I've had exactly one point on my driver's license - ever - and have no criminal record whatsoever. I couldn't even imagine it.

I've done everything the government and basic human morals would suggest is right, so how come if I was pulled over tomorrow by a cop, and he found the Dugout I carry with me at all times, I'd be in trouble up to my eyeballs and labeled a terrible person? For that matter, if anyone I worked with found out what I do, that would be the end of my career. It's just not right.

In the last couple of days I've learned a lot on this site. It's truly been an eye-opener! I had no idea there were so many people like me out there. I only wish I had the pleasure of sharing this lifestyle with others off-line. I miss the days of lounging with a pipe and a few good friends, and waxing philosophical for relaxation.

__________________
Round and round and round we go, and where we stop, nobody knows.

OLDHIPPY

My thoughts as to why it costs more than gold. Marijana is natural, biodegradable, easy to grow, and the government hasn't found a way to tax it like they do with alcohol.
One of my favorite sayings is:God made marijana
man made alcohol,
Who do you trust.

WNB

Great read zombie!

One thing you never mentioned is the prison industrial complex, though. How pot laws cause many people to be incarcerated in a prison, possibly a private prison given government money based on how many prisoners it has, and often forced to work at well below minimum wage.

And don't even get me started on how the prison industry really benefits from mj prohibition; failed drug tests, which send millions of people on probation and parole back to jail or prison.

__________________
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

THE_ODA

The best thing about a day being lifted and outgoing, having fun - is not getting caught doing it. That says something about America. Good read Zombie.

__________________
A Piper in the Town

Logos

Spiral Dancer, I like that name. Welcome to Marijuana.com

You point out one of the biggest part of the problem. Our culture is being denied freedom by rules that should not exist. We can't congregate for fear of being narked on or caught and stigmatized by the rest of the world that just doesn't get it.

Personnal responsibility within me has blossomed from the use of marijuana, and it sounds like it has had the same impact upon you.

I sometimes wonder if that isn't a side effect of long term consistent use.

Excellent Doc! Articles for stoners by stoners...

__________________
Brother Logos
The more I learn, the less I know. | Truth doesn't change, only our perception of it does.
THC Ministry | The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ | The Reluctant Messenger of Science and Religion
True religion is real living, living with all one's soul, with all ones goodness and righteousness. --Albert Einstein

hauptmann

That was an excellent story zombie, we need more like it around. Now I want to try some Vietnamese food!

__________________
Marijuana.com Community Posting Guidelines

Herb Ninja

Nice story. After hearing some bad tales of real Vietnamese food I chose to stay away from it, your story didn't make me want it less but the stuff you had seems too healthy for my usual liking. Pass the sugar. Peace, HN-

__________________
"Truth is treason in an empire of lies." -Ron Paul

Henry Core

That bud sounds great. That snow was great too(i live in ga too). Driving stoned is much more simple than driving drunk. I do not drive drunk, and people should not in my opinion. Driving stoned can in many cases help a person drive, because they can be paranoid and looking out for everything. Alcohol is addictive and attributes to more deaths than marijuana(0), marijuana is not addictive and cant kill people. Why alcohol legal and accepted and marijuana is illigal and unaccepted? Ignorance.

__________________
"its not a war on drugs its a war on personal freedom"

Mamabudz

We are highly literate, and remain literate while high. There are millions of people like us.

Oh....and we vote, too.


I just gotta give you big thums up on that !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So when we gonna have our CoNveNtiON in JAMAICA!!! Where we can do freely what we cannot otherwise freely do...

...and get together with all the other mature folk who toke?

Hugz,

Mama Budz