Later I got home and worked my Google, and quickly discovered that I’d learned a brand new lesson in drug paraphernalia.  The term “rose in a glass” does in fact refer to just that, a silk rose in a glass tube, purchased in bulk from vendors in China. The rose, however, is incidental, because it’s the glass that serves the purpose the young lady at the store wanted to use it for — as a crack pipe.

The Chore Boy, I also learned, serves as a filter between the crack cocaine rocks in the glass and the user’s mouth.  Just a little pinch of brillow stuffed down the glass tube and you’re ready for action.

And that, my friends, is my lesson of the day, which I pass along to you in case you happen to find yourself buying a bottle of water and a newspaper and a peculiar transaction involving a glass Chinese trinket and a dish scrubber goes down in front of you.

Wow. The vessel IS the thing you're buying, not what's in it.