Tuesdays

Today is Tuesday. Way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, when I had just started high school, I was in a elite circle of kids who smoked marijuana. The herb had just reached the suburbs and the number of kids who smoked weed could be counted on one hand. Within two years the number who hadn't tried pot could be counted on that same hand. Sorry to admit, but I was one of the people who endorsed the new product and coaxed others to turn on.

Like I said, today is Tuesday. Forty odd years ago, I would have said, "Today is Monday" or "Today is Wednesday" or any day other than Tuesday. The reason I would name the day wrong would be to indicate that my head had been filled by smoke. Tuesday was the code to find out if a person was high. On any day other than Tuesday, if you asked a person what day it was, they would respond "Tuesday" to let you know they were high. If you had not yet toked the minimum daily requirement and you were still straight, then you would respond correctly when inquired upon the day. On actual Tuesdays, the code was reversed. On Tuesdays, if you were buzzed, then you would give the wrong answer when asked what day it was.

Let's test. I say today is Tuesday. In 1968 I would have responded "Today is Sunday." Am I high now? Or was I high back then? The answer: I may have partaken of the herb during my high school daze, but I have not smoked weed in thirty-eight years. I use to smoke, but after several years, I found I did not enjoy the effects. I was only smoking because the people around me were. I did fall prey to other drugs, but marijuana was the first I crossed off my "to do" list. Weed gave me tunnel vision, like taking your fingers to imitate glasses and holding them to your eyes. I also found it difficult to concentrate on a single subject; if you asked if I was hungry, I would think about eggs, then chickens, then country farms, then country nights, then the stars, then the solar systems, and I would finally answer that "yes, I think there's life on other planets."

I know people today that still indulge with cannabis. This is after an additional four decades of hybrid pollination, cross breeding, hydroponics and experimentations to achieve the most potent pot on the planet. My brother-in-law abuses marihootchie on a regular basis. It seems possible to get a contact high off him when he calls you up. You can see the reefer smoke emitting from the telephone while it is still ringing. A typical call from him sounds like:
Me: "Hello"
Him: "Man, what a coincidence, I was just thinking of calling you."
Me: "You did call me."
Him: "Really? What'd we talk about?"
Me: "We haven't talked yet."
Him: "That's too bad. We should do that one of these days."
Me: "We can talk now."
Him: "Okay, I'll hang up so you can call."
-click-

Today is Tuesday. But not for all of us.