My Gramps was my biggest role model and still is. I wish he would have lived long enough to see who I transformed into. Before Gramps passed, he taught me a not so essential skill but one I do not regret. Around age six, he taught me to roll his cigarettes for him. Every time I was around, he make me roll one for him. It was hard to do knowing that they were taking time off his life. I still reminisce rolling in his lap. Even though we weren’t fishing or hiking, I will never forget the roll, tuck, and lick of his legacy.
The process of rolling cigarettes involves a cheap and compact list of materials. First, a pack of rolling papers is needed. Papers are less than two dollars and generally hold forty papers. The following material is the filter. They are three dollars for approximately a hundred filters. Lastly, tobacco is the foremost material of rolling. Tobacco has many variables that are determined by the smoker or roller like flavor, fine cut, etc. Dependent on bulk, rolling a pack of cigarettes cost about $2.50. The most valuable material is the time spent mastering the rolling process. Rolling has three main steps broke down into tiny details: positioning, forming, and completing.
The first step in positioning is the first part in generating the standard paper airplane. Find the yellowish glue edge on one side of the paper. Now, fold the paper hotdog style with the glue on the inside of the fold. The glue border should face the roller when they are holding the paper horizontal. Next, place the filter flush on either side of the crease. Sprinkle tobacco evenly throughout the crease. Add as much tobacco possible allowing the tips of paper opposite the crease to join. After positioning is complete, forming is next.
When configuring the tobacco, fingers must apply pressure to the tobacco’s shapeless formation. Place thumbs on each side of the fold half that is closest. Place index and middle fingers on the opposing flap. Using those three fingers, touch the tips of the paper above the tobacco together. Rub fingers together with the thumb pushing up and the middle fingers pushing down. The process is like snapping but the fingers massage the paper back and forth pushing tobacco down toward the crease. The tobacco’s structure will become denser and start to form the shape of the filter. The density of the cigarette is important. Tobacco should not be airtight or sloppy. The tobacco’s form is finished, now the paper needs completion.
The next step is strenuous. Pull thumbs downward, aligning the edge of the flap with the top of the tobacco. Still using thumbs, press the flap over the tobacco and tuck it between the opposite flap