can * nois * seur ( kan' us sur' ), n. one competent to render critical judgement on the qualities and merits of Cannabis.


Today's casual drop-in on the Re-Leaf Herbal Center, 1284 Mission Street @ 9th uncovered a surprisingly fine strain named Nade (nah-day). This dark green bud with orange threads is a full-service Sativa, elevating mind and body to a cool, balanced plane, as it tunes the spirit. A bit pricey at $60 the eighth but quality will out.


Beyond Broadway

As i mentioned at our last meeting, after the closing party for A Passage To India, we arrived at the The Twins' apartment for another bash. i was dressed in a narrow blue suit, shades and white gloves, looking like a cross between Paul McCartney and Micheal Jackson. My then wife Joan was wearing an Indian sari. But when we opened the door we found a room full of people wearing signs around their necks. On the signs were their name, address and the drug they were behind. The choices were Mescaline, LSD and Psylocibine (which came in a sugar cube). i chose the mushroom derivative and we were on our way.


My previous experience with Mescaline in Boston served me in good stead. Soon everything was a rainbow groove. One of the first people i communicated with was a cat named Mike Silver. He was going on about "wonder drugs!" being the future. He was sure right about that but Mike Silver went back to New Jersey never to be heard from again.


There were two other cats on the scene. Richie and Michael. Richie was a good friend of The Twins who were introducing him to New York society. Rich was a Jewish boy from Jersey City who had dropped out of the University of Miami to carouse with Tito Puente's ex, Ida, who liked good looking blond boys around the house. He already had a nose for heroin and coke but had left the hedonistic Miami scene for something more substantial. At the time of the party the substantial part was yet to come.


Mike was a warm, hamisher dude, not quite as focused as his pal Richie but ready to hang at the first sign of a joint. At that moment he was an affable bear of a guy trying to keep his bearings.

One of the properties of Psylocibine is it's ability to awaken telepathic facilities in the brain and my trip was kicking in nicely. i was able to intuit the concerns of various guests including Mike and Rich. By the time the trip ended, somewhere in the deep a.m., we had bonded. ( 47 years later we are still friends ) Rich brought his fascination with Latin music up from Florida which blended well with the Jazz we all worshipped. Tito Puente was already a Salsa star and life with Ida had taught Rich a fair bit. He also had a nodding acquaintance with Lenny Bruce the underground comedian who was way too "sick" for TV. ( He did appear on Hugh Hefner's Penthouse Show )

Within a week or two my pad in the Lower East Side had become command center for young hipsters. We would meet, get high, listen to Jazz or Lenny Bruce or Lord Buckley and access the loftier levels of consciousness. We discussed endless topics from artistic to social to philosophical. Both Mike and Rich were curious about the old movie posters on my wall. I explained my love of film. One night they showed at my door bearing a larger-than-life cardboard cut-out statue of Cary Grant they had stolen from a movie house in New Jersey. For the next six months we would catch glimpses of Cary over our shoulder, digging our search for expanded consciousness.

(much more later )

Suggested Reading: In Search Of Yage by William Burroughs.

Suggested Listening: The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce