As you already know, I always see a lot of strange goings-on in Golden Gate Park when I’m in training. I mentioned the young couple I saw last month, trying to light up an enormous spliff with a magnifying glass. Well, it happened again during a recent training loop through the park. It seemed like every person in all of the park’s eastern side was trying to sell me something exotic — “sticky green bud”, ”skunk,” “pre-rolled fatties,” etc. These offers surprised me, because these are the kinds of products that you normally don’t try to sell to someone who is running right past you at six miles per hour in marathon-training gear, and is obviously in the middle of a big, sweaty workout. Anyhow, I made my way up to the famous Hippie Hill, and there, at the very top, sat a little boy, about 25 feet from two people whom I assumed were his parents. He was probably five years old or so — no older than six — and had a peaceful demeanor. I said, “Hey, kid, how ya doing?” and waved hello.
“Fat nuggs?” he replied.
(I swear I’m not making this up, although, in retrospect, I have a very strong suspicion that he was just imitating what the people around him were saying, and was not actually a pot dealer!…)