SMOKES

Bout 1960, Bobby Sparks lived in a Sinclair gasoline refinery house with his grandparents. I never knew where his parents lived and never met them.

Bobby's Grandmother saved 50 cent pieces. I'm thinking that was a fairly common trait among women of the time (1950-60's) as Hattie had a house moved to the corner of Highway 64 and paid Leroy Gilley with coffee cans full of half dollars for the job (wow, think about what those solid silver half dollars would be worth now)?

Anyway, Bobby was a common every day thief. He would take his Grandmother's money from the cans and buy *oh my goodness* cigarettes. At the time, it was "manna" from heaven. Bobby would buy them ciggyboos, (we never heard of cancer). Forget that we now know of the carcinogen effect of tobacco, we thought, it was heaven sent that Bobby always had a full pack of Winstons for us to "feel grown-up" while "coughing" and doing what the "men" would do.

Dang I'm glad that near bout the age of 21 I decided that smoking "cancer sticks" was an extremely stoopid way to shorten my life. I haven't always made good decisions, but dumping those cigarettes has to be one of my all time good 'uns?