One afternoon in the early ‘70s, I was with a woman-friend, Liz, and we were wandering around checking out some of the art galleries on Geary Street, in San Francisco. I love art, but after a while, enough was enough. I suggested that we duck into a corner-store, buy a pack of smokes and walk down to Union Square to watch the daily antics of Robbie Shields, the mime who performed on the streets, and later became somewhat of a TV star. Liz wanted to look at one last gallery, and I said I would just wait for her outside. I was standing in front of the Curan Theatre, just doing nothing. People watching - stuff like that. I noticed an elegant, middle-aged woman walking in my direction. She was smiling and smoking a cigarette. As the woman approached, I said, “Excuse me, can you spare a smoke?” She stopped, and said, “Sure, honey,” and she gave me a cigarette. She asked if I needed a light, as well, and she handed me the cigarette that she was smoking and said, “Here, just light it off of this.” (Note that back in those days, cigs were cheap, and almost everyone smoked. Asking a complete stranger for a smoke wasn’t rude or unusual - not like panhandling for money. Everyone smoked, and everyone shared. And, mimes were still an acceptable form of entertainment. These days, cigarettes and mimes are looked upon with pretty low regard.) Anyway, the woman turned and walked into the Curan Theatre. I glanced around and noticed a poster that said, “Now Playing - The Broadway Hit - Applause - Starring Lauren Bacall.” I looked at the photo of Lauren Bacall on the poster, and I realized that she was the woman who had just given me the cigarette. While I was looking at the poster and puffing on the smoke, Liz came up behind me and said, “Hey, I thought you said you didn’t have any smokes.” I said, “I don’t have any. I bummed this one off of Lauren Bacall.” Liz rolled her eyes, and said, “Joel, you’re so full of shit sometimes.”

- Joel Timothy