Lost my lunchtime smoking spot

[Beatnikbandit]

eff that I live in California and I smoke outside all the time in front of no smoking signs too whenever I please. I don't littler I always take care of whatever I had smoked and I NEVER had a problem. If I am a private establishment I will not but outside eff that If anyone said anything I would ignore them then say wait are you talking to me I'm sorry I'm blind I wont smoke here again. There is a big difference between smoking in a sparsely populated area like a park or something vs a small outdoor patio at a cafe or something ya know. I wouldn't make people smellmy cigar but if i am in a very public area they can walk away and if someone chooses to be near you and does the fake cough just do something more obnoxious like act like your going to puke and ask them to leave because they smell bad . I would seriously but i have yet to have someone actually sit near me and do the fake cough. I just think about it the same as "doctorcue" what are they gunna do call the police or have a security guard tell you to move and even then if someone asked me to move i would be like "ok wait a sec though so i can finish this". What happend to the good old days when doctors would smoke in thier office and blow it in patients faces Sorry for the rant but people are dumb and people who want to control what other do are metally challenged

[butterbeezy]

Pete, what city do you work in? No B&M close by to have lunch in? I work in SF's financial district and there's 2 bars that allow smoking.

[duhman]

Maybe the sign wasn't there before?
You should have seen all the looks I got from people walking by in a little riverside park in Hong Kong while I was kicked back and smoking a stogie. Like they never saw a white guy smoking a cigar before.

[brigey]

Originally Posted by petewho

Since I'm still pretty new to the leaf, it's been only the past two weeks that I've had a lunchtime cigar, maybe two or three times a week.I'd been walking down to a 20 acre grass field type park that's outlined with a paved path and the occasional bench here and there. I've always entered and exited the park from the same side, taken a seat on the same bench in the shade, and fired up. I've never been given the stink-eye from passers-by.

Here in California smoking is VERY unpopular, and I'm a courteous person. So when families with small kids walk by, I take that time to stand up, stretch my legs, and walk away from the path, letting them pass by far away from me & my odor.

Today I saw a guy walking the path with a lunch bag in his hand, looking for an open bench (most were occupied with people sleeping on them). When he sat down next to me I got up and decided to have a walk for the remainder of my cigar, figuring this guy would like to eat his sandwich without smoke. Once I was up and walking around, I saw something that nearly made me swallow my cigar - a big fat NO SMOKING sign RIGHT above the very bench I'd been sitting on the last two weeks for my lunchtime cigar!

Ugh. I took a walk and finished my stick standing around in an empty parking lot. I can't believe I'd been sitting right under a no smoking sign... Even more unbelievable is that nobody called me on it.

.
Which only goes to prove that even if the sign were there the whole time most people do not go nuts over someone smoking a stogie. I would still smoke there and if anyone tells you that you can't smoke there then be a champ and put it out. See how long it will last until you are told that you cannot smoke there. I guess you don't pay taxes and that you cannot share the park either. LOL

[pbrennan10]

Cool Hand Luke That Sign

[tonyrocks922]

I'd continue smoking there as well. I also think it's pretty weird that you left when someone else sat down. Unless the guy was blind he could see you and the cloud of smoke around you and decided to sit down anyway.

I generally try not to light up if there are a lot of people and I'd have to sit right near someome, but if I am there smoking and other people come afterwards, that's their choice and their problem if they don't like it.

[petewho]

Well, I didn't make it down to the park today. Found another spot, bench in the shade, on the property of a complex that has a lot of trees/vegetation/etc, saw a whopping three people walk by in the 35 min I was there, not a single no smoking sign in sight. I'm not gonna miss the old spot!

My allergies are acting up & my taster is off a little, so I didn't go for one of the three "nice" sticks in my Otterbox. I opted for a small Punch Rare Corojo that I also had with me. First time I had one and absolutely enjoyed it.

[petewho]

Originally Posted by tonyrocks922

I'd continue smoking there as well. I also think it's pretty weird that you left when someone else sat down. Unless the guy was blind he could see you and the cloud of smoke around you and decided to sit down anyway.

I generally try not to light up if there are a lot of people and I'd have to sit right near someome, but if I am there smoking and other people come afterwards, that's their choice and their problem if they don't like it.

I agree with you 100% in principle. I just felt like being nice to the guy.