When it hit midnight, the bartender at the Jade Pagoda told his patrons that they only had 15 more minutes, and then the smokers would all have to leave. Everyone obeyed, but once the smokers departed, there were only 3 people left in the Jade, naturally. Many of them went to Linda’s, which Christopher reports has become the bar of last refuge for people kicked out of other establishments that are less inclined to thumb their noses at authority.

A refugee from the Jade Pagoda found Christopher sitting at Linda’s and told him: “The shitty thing is, my girlfriend and I fell in love at the Jade Pagoda. We met there. We’re both smokers. They have the best juke box in the city. It’s dank and dark and misty there. And we fell in love there… No more.”

This refugee was wearing a shirt he’d made up special for tonight that read, “Kiss My Butt, 12-7-05.” It also featured a little drawing of a cigarette.

His girlfriend was wearing a shirt that said: “Smoke Free… K” (At the bottom it read: “I’ll fucking choke you, 12-7-05”)