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No more clouds

Of smoke!

As of tomorrow, O'Toole's is smoke free. That's something I'd never thought I'd see, what with cigarette smoke being integral to the structure of the building. Did the world end when we weren't looking?

We had no idea they were considering any change in the smoking policy till we saw the sign on the door this evening. I asked the hostess if she was pleased. She did a little dance step and said, "Oh yes! I'm tickled pink. This is the last night I'll ever have to say 'Smoking or Non?'" I asked if she thought they could ever get the smoke smell out. "No, it's going to have to be painted over with, like, twelve coats of primer. Or something special."

The non-smoking section, where we always sit and which was pretty much just a polite fiction, was full of smiles. People were pointing to the little "Smoke free as of March 1" signs on the tables and asking the waitresses, "Is this for real?" The couple at the next table was saying, "Woo! Smoke-free St. Patrick's Day!" Me? I'm looking forward to enjoying a Guinness and not having to change out of smoke-reeking clothes after.

Meanwhile, the smoking section was full of frowns. The smokers were all smoking extra.

As we left, we saw a TV news team outside getting ready to cover the story. Yeah, the nation's at war and we're looking at a banana republic-style currency crisis if the Chinese get financially itchier* and cash in their US bonds.** But, hey, local bar goes smoke-free! Film at eleven!

*Yes, the week after I make my 2006 retirement contribution, we get a stock market crashlet. Shanghai sneezes and I catch a cold. Hey, it's a buying opportunity … at least if you didn't buy last week.

**Through their purchase of US Treasury bonds, the Chinese are financing our mushrooming government expenditures (courtesy of the far right wing radicals who say they want to shrink government and drown it in a bathtub. A bathtub full of what? Credit card statements? Also, it would have to be a damn big bathtub.) and the war (courtesy of the same far right wing radicals who happen to own a lot of stock in munitions companies, oil companies, and Halliburton).

And speaking of catching a cold, a little Norwegian bird told me that Norway is the place to go if you want to get a job. With 100% employment, they are short of all kinds of technicians, skilled workers, and engineers, so they're importing people from all over on their generous guest worker program. It sounds strangely appealing.