It’s sometimes frightening to look back and realize how close I can come from missing a great sighting, and in many cases probably have. But in the generally mediocre mid-afternoon hours of my first day at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair, a very savvy and timely observation helped me avoid missing one of my top-five sightings of the day. As I was heading to the northwest corner of the grounds to the new Heritage Center area just renovated this past year, I was crossing paths with two couples that included an early 20s blond in a black tanktop and white shorts with what looked like a lighter cupped in her right hand. I took a second look upon passing and felt certain that it was indeed a lighter, leading me to do a 18o-degree pivot and follow them. Now I’m a sucker for white shorts and I’m sure that’s what drew my eyes to that blond as I approached her, but as I turned around I noticed that the other girl in the foursome already had a cork filter cigarette going…..
She was an attractive 22ish light brunette in a blue blouse and jean shorts with smooth legs coming out from underneath. I didn’t have to wait long until she took a drag and I was in heaven to be following a scofflaw smoker girl in a smoking-forbidden part of the grounds. But just as I was getting settled in for her show, the blond cupping the lighter sprung my eyes back her way as she inserted an all-white cigarette between her lips and let it dangle for a few seconds while approaching her lighter to it. I got an uncharacteristically perfect snapshot of her with the cigarette dangling from her lips, along with a guy approaching her giving her the evil eye for smoking a cigarette where she wasn’t supposed to. I just get the feeling that neither blondie nor her friend much cared about his opinion or anybody else’s though….
Now both girls were about even in attractiveness, with neither being bombshells but both being above-average among modern smoking coeds. But based on presentation and smoking style, the blond won the round as far as I’m concerned, looking spectacular working those tight white shorts. She also took longer drags and produced much cloudier exhales than the friend, and no doubt a number of people who hate cigarette smoke were forced to wade through her smelly steam blasts in this very busy part of the grounds. I followed from the side, admiring both girls and capturing them both in mid-drag on a couple of occasions, adorably walking next to their nonsmoking boyfriends who are clearly both ready, willing, and able to endure these ashtray-mouthed young females up close and personally….
A weird pivot took place as they got about halfway towards the grandstand, and the foursome turned around and headed the other direction. I continued to follow when, unsurprisingly, the harder-smoking blond in the white shorts finished her cigarette first, dropping the all-white to the pavement which I easily identified as a Marlboro Light. I then found myself walking behind the light brunette who was still smoking, and at one point she turned around and made eye contact with me. I feared I had been busted but she didn’t say anything and pressed forward finishing off her cigarette while weaving through the large crowd. About a minute after the blond finished off hers, the light brunette littered hers on the pavement as well. I could tell by the markings while she was smoking that it was a Camel Menthol and confirmed that after she dropped it. It was such a relief to score my first sighting of the day worthy of my favorites list, particularly since I came so close to walking right past it without noticing the smoking.
Mark's Smoke Blog 