>Last weekend, I headed over to my local head shop to buy a new sheath
>for my little Graffix toy.  I'm not a total newbie, so I know you're
>not supposed to mention 'bongs' or 'pot' or 'drugs' hehe... or 'parole'
>inside, but I think I violated a cardinal rule, and it was a buzz kill
>as I was pleasantly baked, going on a very important mission to find my
>bong a new limb.
>
>I had brought along the broken sheath (broke it once, reversed it
>(sucked, no seal), and...yes, broke it yet again.).  I had washed the
>damn thing so as not to allow any 'tobacco' resin that had accumulated
>entrance into a place of such nature.  I bring it out... 'Hey, do you
>know where I can get one of these?'
>
>'No, and will you please take that out of the store?!' he responded.  I
>immediately felt like ... well, you know that feeling when you fuck up
>and feel like a total idiot, probably sprinkled with 'aw, shit... I
>seem like some fucking ignorant stoner wanna-be and I broke a really
>important rule'...
>
>The point of all this rambling (aside from testing out an anonymous
>remailer account, an unfortunate necessity) is there should be a better
>way to learn the rules.
>
>So anybody wanna summarize?  Sort of a 'community service' kinda
>gesture?
>
>Luckily (I knew you were waiting to hear the cry of victory), I managed
>to acquire a second chance from him and scored a whole new set (sheath,
>bowl and both seals).  I grinned in tense amazement when my friend,
>using his urban instinct, purchased some 'whip cream chargers and
>balloons.'
>
>There are some things about this society that really lead me to wonder
>about the security of the human race...
>
>Sinking back into my falling armchair,
>
>A guy with a grin on his face...

Well, if it was Graffix, you should've just went in and asked for a 
glass hitter piece.  Some places sell them seperately, others sell the 
slide with the stem.  I would NEVER take a used piece of paraphernalia 
into a head shop.  The guy that checks ID at the door at a headshop in 
Maryland called Doc's is a cop.  I found this out when I was in last 
week, cause he busted two little kids for false ID.  It was pretty 
freaky at the time, because I was very inebriated.  Me and my friends 
are standing there, looking at the glass slides (hey! that's what we 
were after too!) and these kids come in.  The dude's like, "Do you have 
ID stating you're 18?"  The one kid pulled out his wallet and handed the 
guy his ID.  The man said something about not being able to accept it, 
and the kid started throwing a fit.  The dude said, "No," and the kid 
went to grab the ID.  Then some other guy came out of the back and said 
"This man knows what real ID looks like, he's a cop."  That's when the 
dude flashed his badge, took the ID, and escorted the kids outside.  As 
far as I know, his intention wasn't to bust the kids.  As I was leaving 
I overheard the owner (the dude that came out of the back and said the 
other dude was a cop) talking to one of the kids (apparently one of them 
really was 18, the other wasn't) about getting his shop in trouble and 
all that happy horse shit.  Anyway, the moral of the story is:  I don't 
think anybody at a head shop would really want to bust you, but you 
don't increase your security by bringing paraphernalia into the store.  
Doc's did have the best price on glass slides.  They sell the slide and 
stem for $12, and Firefly's, across the street, sells only the slide for 
$10.  I'd much rather shop at Firefly's, especially after the paranoia 
set in last week.  If you're in the Baltimore area, check out both 
shops, they're across the street from each other on Eastern Blvd.  
l8a..