I wanted to share a snowboarding experience I had recently that totally confirmed why I love to smoke weed. It isn't really about the physical effects of weed on your body, but rather the environment the effects create. I really do feel that pot is awesome in bringing down barriers and promoting camaraderie amongst strangers. Its weird. There's this instant understanding between pot smokers that transcends words and that elevates a mere hello to something more, and which seems more genuine than any other drug-enhanced interaction, including E. So here's what happened.
My friends and I went up to the ski resort on Friday night. Now, I had toyed with the idea of smoking up a bit before hitting the slopes. I'm a pretty experienced snowboarder, so I thought I would take a few hits and chill out on a few runs while enjoying the scenery. Well, the gods must have not approved, because the next day, a full on storm basically whited out the whole top and backside of the mountain. It was miserable. And to top it off, I had forgotten my stash at the cabin.
My friend suggested that we head to the backside of the mountain, even though we knew most of the lifts there were closed and the wind was really kicking up back there. We figured the lift lines would be pretty empty. Well, once we got there and had a couple of runs, I needed to take a piss so I headed to this shack of a bathroom which seemed completely deserted judging by the lack of snowboards propped outside.
As I entered the bathroom eagerly looking forward to getting out of the biting cold, I was enveloped by willowy white smoke and that delicious smell I know so well. Inside, sitting and standing against the wall and the sinks, were about 7-8 smiling guys chatting it up. The next few seconds happened in slow motion. I walked in and the guys became quiet. But they kept smiling at me, almost hesitantly and with what looked like a hint of some expectation. I shot them a look back, inhaled deeply, smiled, and said "ahhh." We all burst out laughing. In that 3 second span, all of us entered into this realm where it seemed we were old friends. One of the guys quickly took out a pipe and handed it to me without a word. As I smoked the herb with deep satisfaction, we all laughed and joked about the conditions.
I was amazed, and quite frankly, really touched. Here we were, a group of 8 strangers, of different ages and different ethnicities, huddled together in some ramshackle of a bathroom, with the wind and snow swirling menacingly outside, sharing a pipe and laughs. Everyone was at ease. No one had an agenda, with people openly sharing advice, tips and commiserating with each other. There wasn't the artificial push of social interaction that comes from some other drugs. The camaraderie I experienced was genuine and was reflective of the many other social interactions I have had with other pot smokers.
When I left the bathroom to brave the conditions outside once again, the guys bid me farewell, wished me luck, and offered me another hit. I declined (the conditions seemed way too hazardous) and left feeling bright and happy. The rest of the day was filled with horror (don't ever snowboard stoned in a snowstorm...EVER) and dismay (the lines were crazy long and it took me forever to get back). But that night, as I ate dinner and recounted the day with my friends and what transpired, I could honestly say it was one of the best snowboarding days of my life.
My friends and I went up to the ski resort on Friday night. Now, I had toyed with the idea of smoking up a bit before hitting the slopes. I'm a pretty experienced snowboarder, so I thought I would take a few hits and chill out on a few runs while enjoying the scenery. Well, the gods must have not approved, because the next day, a full on storm basically whited out the whole top and backside of the mountain. It was miserable. And to top it off, I had forgotten my stash at the cabin.
My friend suggested that we head to the backside of the mountain, even though we knew most of the lifts there were closed and the wind was really kicking up back there. We figured the lift lines would be pretty empty. Well, once we got there and had a couple of runs, I needed to take a piss so I headed to this shack of a bathroom which seemed completely deserted judging by the lack of snowboards propped outside.
As I entered the bathroom eagerly looking forward to getting out of the biting cold, I was enveloped by willowy white smoke and that delicious smell I know so well. Inside, sitting and standing against the wall and the sinks, were about 7-8 smiling guys chatting it up. The next few seconds happened in slow motion. I walked in and the guys became quiet. But they kept smiling at me, almost hesitantly and with what looked like a hint of some expectation. I shot them a look back, inhaled deeply, smiled, and said "ahhh." We all burst out laughing. In that 3 second span, all of us entered into this realm where it seemed we were old friends. One of the guys quickly took out a pipe and handed it to me without a word. As I smoked the herb with deep satisfaction, we all laughed and joked about the conditions.
I was amazed, and quite frankly, really touched. Here we were, a group of 8 strangers, of different ages and different ethnicities, huddled together in some ramshackle of a bathroom, with the wind and snow swirling menacingly outside, sharing a pipe and laughs. Everyone was at ease. No one had an agenda, with people openly sharing advice, tips and commiserating with each other. There wasn't the artificial push of social interaction that comes from some other drugs. The camaraderie I experienced was genuine and was reflective of the many other social interactions I have had with other pot smokers.
When I left the bathroom to brave the conditions outside once again, the guys bid me farewell, wished me luck, and offered me another hit. I declined (the conditions seemed way too hazardous) and left feeling bright and happy. The rest of the day was filled with horror (don't ever snowboard stoned in a snowstorm...EVER) and dismay (the lines were crazy long and it took me forever to get back). But that night, as I ate dinner and recounted the day with my friends and what transpired, I could honestly say it was one of the best snowboarding days of my life.
