FIRE IN THE TRENCHES

It is good to wear dark clothing and stay in the shadows. On a cold night in San Francisco I stepped out for a last smoke of the day, and thus was able to observe a person across the street behave in a discordant manner. Possibly on drugs, or maybe from a bad family. Conceivably just insane, or a combination of all that. Superhuman strength. Throwing very heavy things about. As I watched him I soon realized that what had started out as feats of strength, like a man getting his daily exercise, was both more than that, and less. He was throwing the objects specifically to make as much noise as possible. Both to irritate, and attention grab.
Seemed angry about something.

SO DELICIOUS

The advantage of smoking a pipe is that there is no glow visible, unlike a cigarette. Enemy sharpshooters aim for the flame, and can pop off another one with each desperate drag. Whereas a man smoking a pipe and under a dark overhang is nearly invisible. One does not want to catch the eye of the near-naked loony exerting himself. Unlike, as just an example, Mr. Siew across the street, standing in the lit portico of his building with a cigarette, and momentarily oblivious to the whacko.

I'm not sure that he got to finish his smoke. He headed back inside when the gentlemen in question started purposefully striding toward him. A wise and cautious move. I calmly finished my pipe, tapping out the ashes long after the street had grown quiet again.

During the day it's not like that outside, probably because there are more normal people about, and illicit substances are not an early bird thing.

The real bats come out at night.

TOBACCO INDEX


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