Why is it that the most unqualified people are usually the ones giving the most advice, on subjects they know practically nothing about?

I went to Oktoberfest the other day. There were literally thousands and thousands of people there. So many people that its pretty much shoulder to shoulder when you are anywhere near the huge food tent, or any beer service lines. Sometimes the beer lines are so long that by the time you get to the front of the line, you have to go right back to the end of the line and start over, because your beer will be gone by the time you reach the front again. Now, I have always sort of hated crowds. Something about the noise that crowds make rubs me the wrong way. But, at some point, being immersed in a large enough crowd sort of makes the crowd kind of disappear. The crowd can be so ridiculously loud and big, that it turns into something completely different. This is mostly the case at Oktoberfest.

The first few times I went to Oktoberfest, my group would walk around and browse all the German wares, and visit each exhibit, and experience the entire thing. Over the years though, it has more or less just turned into getting together, eating German food, and drinking mass amounts of German beer. There is nothing wrong with that at all. We don't get together very much I suppose, so an annual city organized event gives everyone an excuse to hang out together.

So, I was at Oktoberfest and I was walking around, generally looking down as I walked so I didn't trip over stuff or another person, and I notice a pack of cigarettes laying on the ground. I pick it up. The pack appear to have been trampled on quite a bit, but was generally intact. I pick it up and take a peek inside. There are 19 cigarettes in the pack. Someone spent their hard earned cash for these fine Camel tobacco products, smoked one, and somehow managed to lose the rest. I suspect they fumbled while attempting to reinsert the fresh pack into their pocket, due to so many people bouncing around. Score.

I announce my good fortune to the group. Hey, check this shit out, fate has brought me a fresh pack of cigarettes, one shy of 100%! I look around at my team, and most of them have a confused or hesitant look on their faces. Wha?

I commenced to busting out one of the Turkish delights for a smoke.

Whoa! You aren't going to smoke that are you?

eh? Whatta you mean? Of course!

These peeps were freaked out that I was going to smoke one of these found cigarettes. I explained again that there were 19 of the 20 left. Clearly someone had inadvertently dropped them. What did they think? Was it possible that some weird sicko bought a pack of cigarettes, smoked one, poisoned the rest with anthrax, went to Oktoberfest of all places, found a good spot, put them on the ground, then stomped on them, with the intention of killing some random fool who just could not resist the cool smooth pleasure that only a Turkish tobacco could provide? Give me a break! Did they think someone had shat upon them, or used them as some sort of butt plug, or perhaps merely urinated on them? Oh Come on! It is not like I had a cut on my leg, so I found a nice used band-aid, or like I found some previously chewed gum to enjoy.

What if I had found a twenty dollar bill. Clearly someone has already used the money. Clearly they didn't mean to drop it. Would they have the same dumbfounded look on their faces if I picked up some money? As a side note, I would wager the cigarettes were cleaner than any found money could possibly be.

I later offered one of the cigarettes to a fellow reveler. He was hesitant. There was another conversation about how they were obtained. I eventually said, just smoke the fucking thing, it'll be OK. He did.

I found the entire thing quite interesting. What would you do in this scenario? Would you have smoked the cigarettes? Maybe you don't smoke, but suspend your disbelief and pretend that you do. Or, in your reality, let's say it was a fresh package of gum, with only one piece missing, and clearly untainted in any other way. Would you chew some?

I took the cigarettes to work a week later, and I offered one to a dude. I said, hey, I found these cigarettes on the ground at Oktoberfest and they were stomped on, you want one? He said, heck yeah! and smoked it right up. He didn't bat an eye or ask any further questions at all.

So, I guess it boils down to a person's sense of adventure. I have sort of taken on an approach that life is a garden, dig it. When something delivers itself, it should be taken advantage of. Maybe the unseen forces wanted me to smoke those cigarettes, so they put them there for my benefit. Life goes by pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. That's your homework for today. Find an opportunity, and capitalize.

OK, so that wasn't about unqualified people giving advice at all I guess, too fuckin bad.