Up in Smoke



"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."
- Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President

Remembering this as we near elections always brings a smile to my face.

Back in the 70s I was recently out of college living in Austin working nights in a hospital laboratory.  Realizing that some of my new found friends had much better sound systems, I was inspired to assemble my own, but on a budget.  A coworker/friend who was somewhat of an audiophile helped with this endeavor.  First thing was a trip to the multitude of pawn shops in Killeen near Ft Hood for a receiver and turntable.  Ray then suggested that an acquaintance of his could help me with the speakers.  This is where my story begins.

Early one morning after work we went to Jesse's house.  When we arrived he was sound asleep in front of an open window, curtains blowing in the breeze, with his stereo blasting rock music at very slightly below the threshold of pain.  We shook the bed to wake Jesse.  He sat up, rubbed his eyes, turned off the stereo and the first thing he said as he would first say the next two or three times we met, “Smoked some Colombian last night, knocked me on my ass”. 
It seems Jesse and his housemate worked for a company that made high-end stereo speakers.  The story I was told and believed at the time; they weren’t paid well so the owners of the company let them make speakers for their friends on the side using factory components to supplement their incomes.  I ended up with a very nice set of stereo speakers.

Didn’t see Jesse again for a couple of years, then one day I ran into him on Guadalupe St.  near UT.  Unkempt and poorly groomed, he and his dog were living on the streets of Austin, panhandling and whatever they needed to survive.

I didn’t see Jesse again for at least a couple more years.   Walking through a room one day something on the local evening news caught my eye.  There on the screen was Jesse, well groomed, clean shaven, and dressed in a three-piece suit very articulately answering questions about his run for mayor of a town near Austin.  I don’t remember if he won the election, but there seemed to be a life lesson about not judging people and how we all change over time.  

I wonder sometimes whatever happened to him.   Perhaps I will see him again someday as a congressman.


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