What Is that Smell??

When I was 13 years old, my angry 17-year-old sister and I went to spend a week with my cool urban brother and his girlfriend. We were country folk; he lived in the suburbs of DC.

He took us to all sorts of things - the July 4 celebration on the mall (I, of course, wondered where the stores were), the Smithsonian (of which, I only remember the air and space museum with it's "To Fly" IMax experience and the M*A*S*H exhibit... go figure), and my first rock n' roll concert.

Ron and Ginny (no, not Weasely, though as a HP fan, I think their names are a cool coincidence) took us to see Jimmy Buffett.

Now, I'd never really heard any Jimmy Buffett, and I'd never been to a concert. This was, I think, at Wolftrap - or some other big outdoor venue. And I was kind of a naive kid, being my mother's daughter (she still thinks the lyrics to "Lay Down Sally" are "Way Down South") and being the product of a farm upbringing. These are the observations I remember from that concert:

• My brother had become completely intolerant of smokers. I mean, our father smoked like it was going out of style. And he smoked stinky cigars. But my brother was extremely angry at the couple next to us for smoking next to me, a kid. I mean, so the cigarettes smelled a little funny. What's the big deal? (heh)
• I had no idea that carpentry and alcohol went well together... (check out the song that this post references - it's actually what got me on this tangent...).

If I never said so, Ron and Ginny, thanks for putting up with two bratty kids that week!

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