When I was using condoms things were not quite so liberal. Shit it was easier and less humiliating to buy a 'lid' (oh shit now I am aging myself
) back in those days.
First time I ever had to buy away from home was 1968. Stationed at Camp Pendleton. Obviously looked like a Marine. Hippies walking up and down Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach offering each other grass/acid/mescaline or whatever. Until I’d get near. Total silence.
Grabbed one guy and stopped him. Informed him I was his brother or cousin or whoever that ended up in a uniform!
He freaked. What did I want?
Pot, man. A damned bag of pot. So he meets me behind the Taco Bell. Hands me this bag and is looking around in case I really am a cop. I ask how much. $20
I asked for that? He said hell yes. It was a weighed ounce. And how much was it where I came from.
$10 for a 5 finger bag. “What? Where are you from, cowboy?”
El Paso. “Remind me to visit El Paso!”