The Living Rockumentary

Last night, Lesa and I ventured out to the Basement open-mic. It was the first night of the state-wide work-place smoking ban and we needed to see if it was actually true. Sure enough, the air in that tiny bar was breathable and clean. My eyes didn't water, my sinuses didn't start knocking me out, and my clothes didn't smell like someone else's stained breath when we left.

All of that was great but it didn't help me perform. I played three songs really poorly and then we, unfortunatly, had to leave before an impromptu Treefort show.

Even though I have seen it first hand, I still have trouble believing that I am not going to have to sit in a cloud of smoke anymore. I'm doing sound at The Elevens on Saturday for the Holics reunion show and I am having a hard time picturing it without the smoke. But, the hope that it will be smokeless was definately a consideration when I was asked if I could fill in that night. It makes me so happy, I can't even begin to tell you, hopefully, I can get some more work again doing sound, now that it will be less gross.

Not only am I happy for myself but I am also happy for my friends who work at bars and spend 30 or 40 hours a week breathing in other people's smoke. I'm also very happy for my other friends who do smoke - I'm sure that this will decrease the amount that they take in at these establishments, and that can only be a good thing.

I'm not sure how I feel about the law. It makes sense to me that a workplace should be safe for it's employees and there are plenty of other laws in place that are designed for the same reasons - ventilation specifications for auto shops, fire sprinklers, etc etc. At the same time, though, I worry a little about the government overstepping it's bounds.

Fortunately, in the end, the only people who might see any long term damage from this new law are the evil tobacco corporations that make their billions off of providing addictive poisons to the masses. I can't feel too bad for them. And while I do feel a little bad for folks who can no longer enjoy their bar-room rituals of a drink and a smoke. I can't help thinking that they might be a little glad about the decision later on in life, when their health and mortality are a bit more fragile.