[And from the Nexus the angels did sing praises to the true Cannabis King.]
Going...
Going...
Going...
Chong!
[Hold up a sec while I exhale from this here joint - Blooooooows Ouuuut.]
I trickled into the Power Zone the next day with the usual accoutrements of weed, hashish, and a very stony disposition. Tommy Chong was scheduled to appear on stage at 4:20 PM. The crowd was a lot bigger that night and it's no wonder as he is a counterculture icon. I squeezed through the throng and moved closer to the front of the stage looking for a nice spot to view everything. As I moved through the crowd I took a moment to look at my fellow judges and spectators. We were all so beautiful and stoned, the smoke was swirling around the room like eddys in the backwater of a brook.
Suddenly the overhead lights dimmed and our cameras started flashing at celluloid gods with all the intensity of the paparazzi, and out walked Tommy Chong. He looked as cool as I though he would, with his gray hair and wrinkled skin. Now here was a stoner that has kept it real throughout his career. Whereas "Cheech" Marin has done everything possible to distance himself from his roots, Chong has been the mainstay and long rebel holdout.
He put his hand to his head and said in a shaky voice, "Ya know, this is what it's all about..." A couple more seconds passed and Tommy was stumbling over his words trying to remember what he was going to say. Fuck, he was so budded that he probably didn't even remember his name. The crowd erupted in laughter. It was a true stoner moment and I was proud to be there when it happened. After he finished his words, his reward was a foot long blunt which had him coughing his lungs out.
Thanks Tommy...