Take It Easy | Career Angles

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

The first time I smoked pot was in the early 1960s. I was probably 13 at the time and was working at a camp for the summer waiting tables. It was my day off and my friend, Bobby, took me over to a cabin where some of the older boys were hanging out.

The room got quiet as one of them took out some pot and started rolling a joint. This was going to be my moment of truth. I never smoked before and didn’t know what to expect.

When I was handed the joint, I did what most teens in movies do — I took a drag on it, started coughing, and was taught how to inhale. I didn’t think anything was happening to me, but a few minutes later, I felt very different than I had before. The room wasn’t spinning, but it was clear that I was what I understood to be “stoned.”. Putting 1 foot in front of the other was a challenge; I had a case of the munchies.

After finding the on-site store record by some potato chips and a chocolate malted (even now, I remember what a pretty disgusting combination those 2 were), Bobby and I started walking back to our cabins.

It was there as we separated that he said, “Take it easy.”

I liked the phrase and started saying it, too, as I would complete conversations with people. Initially, it is about encouraging people to be…