Chivalry

Ten years ago at a small party a young woman asked me for a cigarette. As she put it to her lips, I reached for a match and started to offer a light.

She pushed my hand away and said, “I can light my own cigarette.” I took the cigarette out of her mouth and threw it to the ground and said, “Then you can also buy your own.”

That was the end of it for me. Chivalry, that is. I still smoke on occasion.

RAMON ANGELONI

Los Angeles