In the past, I always enjoyed going out for my birthday.
I would start with a huge birthday dinner, & then hit the bars & clubs to get free drinks all night.
This is a university town, filled with hard-partying young people who love buying drinks for a birthday boy, even if my nice friend and I have never met each other before. This year I was turning 50 & did not feel like going out on the town. My age was catching up with me, & I no longer wanted to hang out with young people, even if I did get free drinks. Instead I decided to have a low-key birthday, & I went to the local cannabis dispensary. This shop is the only locale in village that has a cannabis dispensary & a smoking lounge, but remember how I said I would get free drinks at the bar for my birthday? The same thing happened at the cannabis dispensary smokers lounge, because almost everyone wanted to provide me a hit of what they were smoking. That evening I was given three unusual cannabis edibles, two vape pens, & more hits of weed than I can recall. Someone who worked at the cannabis dispensary was smart enough to take my keys, & one of the people there gave me a ride condo at the end of the night. I really enjoyed getting all that free cannabis, but what I enjoyed even more was the sense of community I felt at the dispensary. In the cannabis community, my nice friend and I take nice care of each other.