Let me apologize up front to smokers everywhere. I'm all for smoke-free bars in this town, this state and across the country.
Last Thursday night, some of my fellow Collegian-types and I headed out to a familiar haunt to let off some steam built up during the first week of publication. For no apparent reason some of the guys were donning blazers, but the anxiety was running quite high.
Was it really worth it to have our jackets smelling like an ashtray just to feel like we looked a little bit more dapper? Probably not, but we went ahead with the plan anyway.
Stepping inside the bar, we were treated to the most pleasant surprise since we found out that when you turn 21, drinking doesn't have to be a fight to the death against cheap liquor as it had been in years past -- the bar was smoke-free.
Not only was the atmosphere just that much better, but there were no oppressive clouds of smoke to deal with, no watering and itchy eyes, and, most importantly, no lingering smell of cigarette smoke following us home and spending the night.
Coming from the state of New York, I had the privilege of going out for a smokeless evening on the home front. Although those bars were lacking -- terribly -- when pitted against my favorite places in State College, I always felt a lot better after last call and into the next morning. Other states have gotten the idea and hopefully Pennsylvania will follow along, soon.
But what about all the people who like to go out and relax with a cigarette after a drink? I'm not going to even attempt to get into secondhand smoke and personal rights and all that, because I really don't care. That and no one wants to read one boring statistic after another. You know, like how one cigarette can kill thousands of baby seals or, since anti-smoking campaigns started, there has been a drastic decline in the level of coolness of America.
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em, just do it outside. What's wrong with a little fresh air sneaking into your lungs along with all that carcinogenic goodness?
If it's too cold out, I don't know what to tell you, other than I learned a long time ago not to light fires indoors. You don't play ball inside and you don't set off fires (no matter how small) inside, either. Talk to Smokey the Bear if you'd wish; I have a large, Members Only Jacket-wearing, bear-like friend who would be happy to take up that part.
More bars should take note of smoke-free promotions. Give it a try, maybe for just one night a week at first, then see where it goes from there. Maybe eventually the whole town will go smoke-free, and then the bar scene in this town will be perfect.
If I failed to mention the name of this bar, it's because even bars without smoke have a downside. This particular Thursday night featured No. 2 on my list of gripes with going out: noise pollution, namely crowds.
One smoke-free night isn't enough for a bar-hopping population such as Happy Valley's. If there are more that I don't know about (and that's completely likely since I'm pretty ignorant about the Penn State nightlife), let me know. Just don't expect me to give away the secret to one of the little pleasures in our journalistically nerdy lives.
My opinion on smoking doesn't matter. My feeling on smoking in public places (bars, bowling alleys, libraries, maternity wards in public hospitals, etc.), probably could get me riddled with cigarette burns.
Unless, of course, I'm safe inside my smoke-free bar.
