Bath Salts: This Is Not Your Grandpa’s Epsom Salts

In talking with some friends recently, I learned of a new drug that could have serious unintended consequences. In fact, it could be deadly.

 

While I realize I may be behind the curve of pop culture and “what’s going down” on the street as it were, I felt strongly compelled to spread the news about this threat.

What I’m talking about here are “Bath Salts.”

That’s right. But, this is not the mineral bath salts we add to our bath water to simulate the positive effects of bathing in a hot spring. Nope. This drug is a synthetic designer drug that has similar effects to those of cocaine or methamphetamine.

2012: Apocalypse Interrupted

or, 2012: The Year We Make Confetti

I was on an errand for my mother when I first found out.

Purchase a loaf of bread and bring it home – that was all I had to do. When I think back on those occasional grocery missions, they were neither necessary nor urgent tasks. I used to think it was her way to make me stop pestering her about wanting  to ride my bike somewhere, anywhere.

But, I think she was trying to teach me some responsibility and independence…”and don’t forget the change!” 

But, education is about more than the 3R’s as this event bore out.

The B.A.R.T. Files: Just Finish One - The Art of Earning

It’s the noon train out of Concord.  Stepping into the car, I settle into my bedbug-ridden urine stained seat.  The car, typically empty at this end of the line, does not begin to fill up until Lafayette and Orinda.

I open my backpack trying to decide which book is up for rotation. It had been a week or so since I spent some time trying to unravel the monomyth as drawn out by Joseph Campbell’s, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” So, I open up where I left off.

Thus, this day’s journey begins.

What of Facebook…?

As a little kid, I remember begging my grandmother for candy. She would always cater to the needs of my sister and me in this way. One day, I asked what her favorite candy was. She replied, “A Love Nest.”

A what nest?

The B.A.R.T. Files: Is this the Twilight Zone or Should I Just Change the Channel?

It was late on a Thursday night with no baseball game; no game means no baseball idiots would grace us with their obnoxious presence.

I was to be spared the mean mugging (the express threat,) the anxiety over the colors of my apparel (the implied threat,) and the certainty of standing in a cramped car with dozens of rowdy fans who smell of body odor, alcohol, and cannabis.

After working the last 48 with less than 6 hours combined sleep, I was looking forward to a peaceful ride home. It looked like the stars were moving into conjunction.

I get a bonus surprise when the train arrives at Embarcadero Station, a very light crowd with plenty of seating. As a settle into my bed bug-ridden, urine stained seat; I survey my fellow riders.