The
Beach has got a bad habit, smoking
Nick
Genisauski
Your
eyes begin to burn. Your nostrils twitch
uncontrollably.
Breathing becomes a chore, but you must
go on. You look for others who might feel
your pain, but you can only identify silhouettes.
The light at the end whispers that the only
way to get through this is to put mind over
matter. But what happens when matter is
literally wafting through your mind? Sounds
like a nightmare from junior high physical
education? No -- welcome to the center corridor
connecting LA4 to the Library! Since Cal
State Long Beach has The Pyramid, the Nugget
and a groper on the loose, I like to call
this school landmark "The Ashtray."
As
if the epic journey from your vehicle wasn't
enough, students climbing through Upper
Campus have the pleasure of inhaling the
remnants of second hand smoke. When I first
began attending CSULB nine years ago, I
recall stepping out of my car and looking
toward the top of the hill. I noticed a
hovering haze to the right of the Macintosh
Building. Being a naïve freshman, I
figured that the mist was a result of the
higher elevation. Little did I know, when
I finally made it to the Liberal Arts buildings,
that a sweater was not the proper piece
of equipment for this ascension, but rather
a "Desert Storm" gas mask.
Over
the years, I've noticed a steady increase
in the number of puffers along smoker's
alley. Maybe this can be linked to the rising
population of students each year, but I
highly doubt it. The reason I say this is
because the corridor has its share of regulars.
For those who might be new to Upper Campus,
let me introduce you to a few. Beginning
on the left-hand side, somewhere near LA3,
is the notorious "leather-face."
"Leather-face" is a veteran! He's
been smoking in the exact same spot for
as long as I can remember. Even if he isn't
around, you can recognize his territory
by the dying vegetation and blanket of cigarette
butts like the freshly fallen snow.
Just
a few steps up from "Leather-face's"
graveyard of butts is a guy who's a dime
a dozen at "The Beach." You can
catch him in the morning slugging down a
large cup of coffee, stuffing a bear-claw
into his face and washing it down with a
Marlborough. Some call him hopeless, but
I like to call him "Coronary Joe."
"Coronary" has been at it for
years, milling around the Beach Hut wondering
which artery-clogging confection will suit
his mammoth appetite. But his real fix comes
when he places that emphysema rod between
his fruit pie-lips, flicks the serrated
wheel on his favorite kerosene tube and
burns that good leaf down the filter.
We
shall move on as the big guy begins to hack
and wheeze, spraying bits of moist cake
into the air. Our goal is to make it safely
to the library, but before we get there,
there's one more obstacle -- a circle of
sorority girls blinding each other with
their own smoke. This chain event all started
when the cameras caught Britney sucking
them down on Sunset. Congratulations! We
made it to the top of campus where "Coronary's"
loose flatulence and carbon monoxide culminate
in a cornucopia of toxins.
It's
interesting how high schools in the state
of California preach anti-smoking rhetoric,
but when their graduates enter college,
all of a sudden they have the opportunity
to purchase cigarettes at the school store.
How is a younger generation suppose to obey
or at least acknowledge the Surgeon Generals
warning when they can easily pick up a blue-book,
a pencil and a pack of smokes to calm their
nerves. As a matter of fact, I say "smoke
em' if you got em;' and if you don't got
em,' bum em'!" Who cares what I or
anybody else thinks. Throw those butts to
the soil, flick them at someone you don't
like, or unwrap the paper and pinch one
inside your lower lip. Life's short, so
enjoy what nature has created. Mankind didn't
alter the tobacco leaf for nothing; he did
it so we can enjoy its goodness in a forest,
on a scenic shore or under a canopy of stars
in the desert. Society must learn that we
should take in everything nature has to
offer -- mentally and physically in the
form of a long, soothing drag. So when in
Upper Campus, do as the occupants of the
"Ashtray" do -- suck em' down
and suck em' often!
Nick
Genisauski is an English major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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