You'd be surprised how many criminals pull off crimes for cigarettes. This week a South Korean businessman died in Portland after a year of quadriplegic paralysis in a hospital after being shot in the throat by some bum who robbed a small grocery store near my home just for a carton of cigarettes. The Korean man was watching the store for a couple of hours while the owner attended church. The robber was a passenger in a high priced Corvette of all cars. High gas prices? No money left for cigarettes? He's now being charged with murder as are the Corvette driver.

Cigarettes are a highly addictive drug and some people do crazy things for them. I've even heard of pathetic cases of some women engaging in prostitution just for cigarettes as well, not for any money.

By the way, I have a pretty good candidate for Knucklehead Of The Century, Bill. While my sister's husband was having a friendly conversation with a policeman at the 7-11 near their home, some idiot drove up in a car and parked next to the policeman's car, bought a beer, and opened it up and started drinking outside his car and then entered his car still drinking, and was promptly arrested for public drinking, intoxication, DUI, and having an open bottle in a motor vehicle. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was probably the easiest DUI arrest that this policeman ever made in his entire life.

Oh the tangled web that some cigarette and alcohol bums weave.