6
Tips for
the frisky
but smart
BY AMANDA BECOM
Staff Writer
How many times has it hap
pened?
You're hugging, kissing, and
maybe more...you come to that cru
cial point where you either go for the
plunge, or wrap it up for the night
and head home to your crusty-sheet-
Rubby the Wonder-Con wants
you to be safe!
ARTWORK BY ALICIA GROGAN-BROWN
covered bed.
If you do decide to have sex, it
always seems as if neither of the two
of you has a condom. Here are a
few places in Greensboro that can
hook you up with the inconvenient
little buggers for free.
♦First-Year Center of Guilford
College, x 2425
(They have a little tin full of'em
just sitting on a table for casual, no
hassles pocketing)
♦Guilford County Family Plan
ning, 373-7564
♦Planned Parenthood, 373-0678
♦Greensboro Health Depart
ment, 373-3245
Features
Talking blues with Ralph Speas
BY MORGAN REFFELL
Staff Writer
"It just moves me," says Scratch
ing the Blues DJ Ralph Speas when talk
ing about his music. Even as a child, his
favorite kind of music was
the blues, and much of the
music he plays on his
show every Tuesday night
from 6-9 p.m. is the same
music that he grew up lis
tening to.
Scratching the Blues
got its start in 1996 when
Speas was recruited by
Roy Moore, another DJ at
WQFS, at a music festi
val called Merlefest.
When asked how he came
up with the name for his
show, he said that the old
records he plays sounded
scratchy. Most of the music he plays was
recorded before 1950, and is often found
only on vinyl. His favorite music to play
is jug and washboard, or hokum bands.
Speas does eight hours of prepara
Ten ways to kick the stick
BY KELTON COFER
Staff Writer
I love to smoke. There are few things
in the worid I love more than sticking a coffin
nail between my lips, whipping out my zippo
and sparking up. It's probably the James
Dean/Humphrey Bogart coolness I've always
aspired to that appeals to me.
Unfortunately for us addicts, we all
know there are few things in the worid quite
as harmful to your health as breathing smoke.
I mean, in a burning building, what's the last
thing you want to do? Breathe in a bunch of
smoke, right?
So what do you do? You've been smok
ing cigarettes since high school (or before that
for real health nuts), and you want to quit but
can't. I have a few suggestions that hold
some value in the effort to kick the stick. I
admit, I have yet to do it myself, but take a
chance! Step into the worid of the wannabe
quitter.
1. Stop hanging out with all your friends
who smoke for at least a week. Just like your
mom always told you, nobody likes a quitter.
People who still smoke love to torture us
would-be quitters by lighting up and asking if
we mind No, I don't mind, but could I chew
on the butt when you're done?
2. Avoid all places where you have the
ability to "bum" a cigarette. Personally, the
tion for eveiy one hour of his show. He
reads up on every single group that he
plays on the radio so he can talk about
each one. Since most of the music he
plays is extremely rare, it is often diffi
j \ V I
Not only can Speas scratch blues, but he makes great quiche.
PHOTO BY BECCA LEE
cult to find information about the per
formers. A good many of his listeners
appreciate the gargantuan effort he puts
forth each week for his show. Speas says
he doesn't know how many people listen
steps to any building on campus are a haven
for my own fells off the wagon
3. An obvious one: Don't go out drink
ing!
4. When in the grocery/convenience
store try to avoid eye contact with the ciga
rette section. It's there like some foul tempt
ress causing your nicotine gears to work over
time and "draw" you in
5. If you have any ciga
rettes left in a pack when you
decide to quit, you must imme
diately ritualistically break ev
eiy last one into as many pieces
as possible, then flush them
down the toilet It's a veiy em
powering ritual. Mind over
matter.
6. Exercise until you ciy,
collapse or feel the oncoming
of a stroke. Unfortunately for
me, these are the times I want
one the most. It's a woikout,
like sex, and I feel I deserve a
smoke to cherish the moment.
Maybe it's not right for all of us.
7. Maniacally do your schoolwork.
Read four and five chapters in advance. If
you finish this semester's work, start on next
semester's material. Sure, you may bum out,
but you might actually graduate in four years.
to the show, but that he does have quite
a few dedicated fans, who often call the
station to speak with him.
Even when he is not playing the
blues on the radio, Speas has a busy life.
Take them out of your attics and base
ments where they will become moldy or
warped and give your children the chance
to enjoy and learn from these historically
important musical documents."
8. Watch the Discovery Channel
closely, looking for documentaries on
smoking's detrimental effects to the lungs.
These programs are usually veiy graphic,
showing blackened lungs that look like char
coal briquettes. It'll make you want to start
doing aerobics on the spot
9. Look up all the ingredients that go
into a cigarette. I know of two that always
scare the hell out of me: rocket fuel and par-
I fa
ART BY ALICIA GROGAN-BROWN
find some comfort in these suggestions. You
can't quit unless you really want to, and it's a
bitch to do, but maybe you can make the tran
sition a little easier
One last thought, "The patch is for
wusses!"
The Guilfordian
January 23,1998
He volunteers as a mediator at
the District Court. He has re
tired from a teaching career as
a social psychologist, but still
teaches one course, "Learnin'
the Blues," at Guilford Techni
cal Community College. He is
a Humanist counselor for the
Humanist Society of friends, and
is also the editor of the multi
state journal, The Southeastern
Humanist.
As a member of the Pied
mont Blues Preservation Soci
ety, Speas asks people, "Please
preserve these vintage record
ings. Don't throw them away.
affin wax. That
sounds sort of hazard
ous to your health,
doesn't it?
10. After
you've been off the
sticks for a week or
more, kiss someone
that still smokes. It's
really gross! It makes
me imagine french
kissing some 90-
year-old woman.
So, in conclu
sion, I hope those
who want to quit will