Oct 06 2008
My First Time: To Chew Tobacco
My First Time to Chew Tobacco was Fifty Years Ago!
What a memorable experience! I can recall the exact day, when, where, how sick I got…
School bus–in the back of course–where else do unruly boys ride but in the back. We were hunched down behind the seats so the busdriver would go crazy trying to watch us and drive at the same time. There were four of us and one kid brought out a “plug” of chew. I don’t think we called it a “plug.” It was a dark, very dark, color, and shaped like a pack of cigarettes only flatter, more like a deck of cards.
As I remember, I could not say what the taste or texture was like. I had nothing to compare it to. I had never tasted anything like it before. I had never tasted anything so putrid in my short and uneventful life. Today I would compare the texture to an energy bar, like a Clif Bar. I still can’t think of anything to compare the taste to. Shit maybe.
Wait a minute! I don’t know what that tastes like.
Anyway, we four guys were down behind the seats, drooling and dribbling on the floorboards. I thought we were supposed to swallow.
Oh, God. Retch. We left a huge mess on the floor back there. Me especially. The other guys just spit. I thought I would never, never, ever try that crap again. My mouth burned; my throat burned; my nose burned.
I couldn’t wait to try cigarettes.
