(A Vintage Petrol Lighter Story Volume 8: Let’s Go To The Dispo! is a work of fiction presented by DependableFlame.com)
Sign In The Window
Elston tapped the steering wheel with his knuckle, keeping time along with the James McMurtry song coming out of the hexagonal speakers in the Jeep. He was waiting for the dispensary to open this morning and he was a little agitated that they hadn’t turned the open sign light on yet. He had a lot to
do and he was ready to get on with it.
“You got a light buddy?” the question came from beyond his peripheral vision as he sat in the driver’s seat of the Renegade. Elston craned his neck slowly, far enough to see without doing any further damage to his neck which grew stiffer by the day. He could just barely make out the bearded man’s silhouette against the backdrop of the rising sun but could clearly see the shopping cart loaded with full, tied up plastic grocery bags loaded down with something or another that he could not discern.
“You bet!” Elston exclaimed. He was always ready to help but pondering the contents of this man’s bags made him think he might need the smoke more urgently than most. “It’s a beautiful morning,” Elston said as he reached into the inside pocket of his vest and pulled out the Dunhill Rollalite that floated around there with all the thin plastic tubes. “What’s got you out so early in the morning?”
It had seemed like a reasonable question to Elston as the sounds came out of his mouth but caused this man to stop cold, tripping on the cart as his momentum carried him head first into the grassy lawn that skirted the parking lot. He fell but the cart stayed upright with all its contents. Elston jumped out of the vehicle and quickly grabbed the man’s arm to help him to his feet.
“What’s got me out this early?” the man scoffed through trembling lips, “there ain’t nothin’ but early out here on the streets my friend!” Elston thought about the man’s response as he raised the lid on the Rollalite and gestured, rolling the long wheel to ignition. The man leaned in close and lit a bent up old Marlboro Light that looked half smoked and salvaged from an ashtray.
“Long nights, huh? I am sorry to hear that sir. My name is Elston James. Do you mind if I ask yours?”
“Long nights? How about a long life Elston James?” the man dropped his head and shook it as he got back behind his cart. “My momma kicked me out of the house the day I turned eighteen Elston James, so this is just another night like any other since. And I don’t mind you asking my name but that don’t mean I’m gonna tell ya!”
The Good Good
His conversation with the man outside had allowed a couple other patients to get in the door before Elston so he waited patiently in the lobby and read the informational posters on the wall. He learned that cannabis plants with long, slender leaves tend to be Sativa strains while the short, broader
variety would typically indicate Indica.
He studied a massive, impressively detailed chart that gave the lowdown on exactly which terpenes were most effective against certain maladies common to the human body. Myrcene seemed to be the most common along with THC in its ability to help patients dealing with chronic pain.
“You can come on back,” the lady budtender announced as Elston was the only one waiting in the lobby, motioning toward him for his medical marijuana card. He passed it to her as he stepped into the inner showroom of the dispensary and spied out the jars of bud in the case on the far side of the room.
“What are we after today?” the budtender asked as she slid his card back to him across the heavily worn Formica counter, “…looking for some edibles, vape carts, pre-rolls…”
Elston interrupted, “Just some flower, need something I can smoke.” He browsed the jars on the various shelves which each had the name of the strain it contained along with the percentage of THC and terpenes. He found an old favorite that seemed perfect!
“Can I get a sniff of that Platinum Glue?” Elston knew she wasn’t supposed to let him smell it, at least that was the law but he hoped she would let him anyway.
“You bet honey! Why don’t we just walk out back here and smoke some of it?” She didn’t appear to be joking and Elston was thankful.
Digression
Having deemed the Platinum Glue worth his while, Elston asked the budtender, who he’d learned by now went by the name of Jane, to bag him up three ounces of it, the limit the law would allow him to carry in his vehicle at any given time. Strange laws spring up around marijuana
programs and Elston often wondered about their viability or purpose but the three ounce limit on your person seemed justifiable enough.
He spent enough money on the flower to qualify for the perk of a free ice water hash infused joint which he twisted the end off of as he said and waved goodbye to his new friend Jane, sticking the cigarette in his beak. Pushing through the door to outside he fumbled with his left hand, searching feverishly for the Rollalite by which he wished to light the kiefed up cigarette.
He would have sworn he slid it into the back pocket of his Wrangler jeans. Still searching when he got to the car, he dropped the bag of bags of flower and began to feel for the lighter with both hands across all his pockets like he was patting himself down for a weapon.
The Rollalite was gone! Elston felt sick to his stomach because that lighter was not cheap. Not only that but it was one of his favorites. He did put it in the back pocket of his jeans, didn’t he?
“Oh well,” Elston thought, squeezing air out between his lips and reached over to the front pocket of the tactical bag sitting in the passenger’s seat pulling out the Majestic Views Zippo he had stored there. He was never without a working lighter.
(Please leave any comments, questions or suggestions in the comments section of this or any other page at DependableFlame.com. This is a work of fiction and any similarity of the characters or situations herein to those that have happened in real life should be seen as coincidental.)
I love Elston’s inquisitiveness, and his willingness to learn. Cannabis is one of those natural resources with a lot of health benefits. But one needs to understand their various types, when it comes to the inclusion of THC. It has a wide range of benefits, from stress to inflammation, and relieving one of the chronic pains like Elston found. The good thing is you will find cannabis packaged in different forms
Thank you Parameter, I really appreciate you reading the story and taking the time to share your insights. I like your observation that Elston is inquisitive in his curiosity for the ways that cannabis can help with certain ailments and is keen to learn as much as he can, especially when he’s got time to kill in the lobby of the dispensary. I agree with you also that THC can have a wide range of effects which can help with many conditions, including anxiety and pain.
I have been enjoying following Elston in the vintage petrol lighter story, and today I saw the human and sympathetic side to his character. It was awesome to see how he was helping the homeless man, even if the man appeared to be on the rude side.
It was very interesting to see that Elston produced a medical marijuana card. Is that required in all states, or is it because the THC content might be higher than 0.3%? Or is there a different reason?
Would also be very curious to know why one is not suppose to smell the flower buds before buying them. although the budtender did allow him to do so and even smoke some of it. Is that also the law in all states, or only some? Thank you.
Hey Liné, I appreciate all your insight and am glad that you are enjoying following along the story of Elston and the small moments and adventures in his life. The 0.3% rule relates to federally legal hemp productions and use. Cannabis is a related plant but produces way higher THC content than hemp, easily in the double digits and often in the 20-30% range the way it is being cultivated today. Some states have recreational programs which do not require a medical card and some states have rec and medical. Elston lives in a state that only has a medical program.
I really enjoyed the story. You did a great job bringing the characters to life. It was interesting that even though there were a lot of moving parts to the story you kept bringing us back to the lighter. I went to my first dispensary in Las Vegas earlier this year. It was just as you described=) I didn’t need a lighter though, I’m a chocolate man.
Good to know that you prefer the edible variety of cannabis Brian and also very glad that you enjoyed the story. There are many different moods, layouts and attitudes that can be experienced at a marijuana dispensary and it’s no different here in Oklahoma. I have also been to dispensaries in Washington State, Oregon and Colorado and while each of them were different, they all provided me with the medicine that I needed at the time of the visit. Thanks again for stopping by my friend.
This was so well written! You really created the scene well for Elston. I think we are only just getting started on the benefits of cannabis for health conditions…
I agree with you Ali about the benefits of cannabis! There have been so many years worth of research that was lost by the government restricting its use and availability. Still so much confusion surrounding the fact that well over half of the country has made it legal while the federal government is intent on remaining in the dark ages. Cannabis is no more dangerous than caffeine and actually beneficial to many whereas alcohol causes only destruction. I am glad you enjoyed the story and hope you will frequent the site for further installments.
I love it, it has such a good flow to it, I do hope he finds his Rollalite. I know how it feels to lose that special lighter. My grandpa gave me my first one when I turned 18, I lost it once and nearly cried. I thought I would never see it again, but my friend found it for me, thank goodness, And they really do become a part of you.
Thank you Tammylou, I am glad you enjoyed reading the story! I have lost a million lighters of the course of my lifetime and yes there were several that bothered my to lose. It’s funny though that once I started using refillable petrol lighters I don’t think I’ve lost a single one. I have misplaced a butane lighter or twelve that I eventually recovered from beneath the seat of the automobile but I don’t even remember ever losing a Zippo or other petrol lighter under the seat.
I have never smoked cannabis in my life but I would have to say you are going to need a reliable lighter if you are going to smoke a marijuana or tobacco cigarettes, so I have to ask is cannabis legal in some of the states in the United States.
Hey Prince thanks for stopping by and reading the article. I used to be pretty ignorant pretty ignorant of marijuana myself so understand how there can be so much confusion. The government and your parents tell you one thing while your friend tells you a completely different story. The government allows alcohol advertisement everywhere but wants to keep weed in the back alleys. It’s legal medically in the state of Oklahoma along with at least 30 other states. Several others have recreational programs. A lighter does come in handy when smoking it!
I know the benefits of story telling and how it can be effectively used to give information, but this is the first time I see it on a website. Great stuff, you have the reader wanting to know more about the story and still the reader is getting information about a specific topic.
I love it.
Well, I appreciate you saying that! I have written stories or had them in my head for a long time. It’s an interest I’ve always hoped to continue. I also have this website that needs content in order to be promoted in the right way. It seemed to me the two worlds could meet just fine and I could still do more traditional type informational content as well. So, I’ve really been enjoying this more creative outlet to write. It does sort of feel like I am creating something brand new. Like a new medium of advertising or genre of literature. I don’t know, maybe someone else has done it but if so I haven’t seen it. Thanks for stopping by my friend!