Menthols and Assholes

There used to be a strip club around the corner from the Catholic school that i went to from from first to eigth grade well before any zoning laws..we would stealthfully run from the schoolyard during recess to the backside corner of this fine establishment like green berets just to sneak a cigarette or two before any of the nuns would notice we were gone
as we got older and bolder
we found we could buy wine coolers at the corner store since they looked exactly like the fruit drink bottles of the day
so the rest of the school was gossiping,playing whatever ridiculous game they could play in that time frame, we were having a drink and a smoke around the corner…
i pass the same people now all grown up
still in the neighborhood
walking their wives dog
on the hunt for their nightly fix
gladly after going separate paths then going out of this town for a long time most have forgotten those days and all the hate that had followed us
the dirty looks
the look of disdain
almost comforting as i am passed by on the avenue
as they still try to bum cigarettes from me