Where Did All the Ashtrays Go?
I went out shopping today: among other things I was looking to replace my current ashtray (which has a chip out of one side). No-one carries them anymore! Not Restoration Hardware; not Pottery Barn, not Brookstone (a longshot, I know, but still…), not Crate & Barrel, not the Bombay Company: no-one. What the hell's wrong with this country? Don't retailers know that we still smoke (those of us who've not been emasculated, anyway)?
It's not as though there's not a market. I have a grand total of two acquaintances who never smoke; everyone else does to one degree or another (as an aside, I have no acquaintances who are smokers—my circle seem to adhere to moderation all things). A quality ashtray can be an attractive centrepiece to a room. Who wishes to spend thousands decorating a parlour, only to throw a $1.50 plastic job on the coffee table? No, the likely answer is that some anti-smoking twits (there is no other type: to oppose smoking is to align oneself with stupidity and evil) were annoyed that such terrible articles were being sold, and persuaded the unhappy retailers to carry them no more.
I am not amused.
