Gil

Gil had no future. He barely had a past.

Thirty five years old. A bachelor. University drop out. Former construction worker, now in an occupation no one else would want. But he had dreams. He had values.

As he sat at his oak desk, he doled out enough tobacco from the green Export tin into his left hand to make one cigarette. He formed a line of tobacco and then pulled a single pale, thin paper from the yellow Vogue paper dispenser and transferred the line of tobacco into the v-shaped paper. He rolled the paper back and forth, using the fingers of both hands, tucking the one edge under the gummed side. Then he licked the gum and sealed the round stick with a gently press. Perfect – almost as good as the tailor-mades. He used his thumb and forefinger to pinch away the excess tobacco from each end and he snapped the roller against the flint on his Zippo lighter. One end of the cigarette into the mouth and the other end into the red flame. A long inhale and then a sigh, as his flipped closed the Zippo lid, extinguishing the flame. The aroma of fresh lit tobacco pushed out the stale air in the large room.

He placed the new, now glowing masterpiece in the slot of the large amber ashtray and reached for a long necked brown Lucky Lager from the cardboard carton beside the desk. He snapped off the lid with his O’Keefe bottle opener and poured the room temperature, golden nectar into a tall glass that he held at a slant. The bubbles creating a hiss as they floated to the surface. Just enough of a foam head to top it off.

Roll-your-own in one hand and a glass of amber liquid in the other, He glanced at the empty “guest” chair beside the desk. The Gil proceeded to pour over the Free Press. Time to catch up on the events of the day.

Britain nationalizing the coal industry; Jewish terrorism in the Middle East; French having trouble with Ho Chi Min in Veitnam. The end of the war had not ended world problems. But there were some positive things happening at home: St. Lawrence
Seaway opens; Tommy Douglas improving Saskatchewan’s economy.