Incidentally, when you offer a light to others, be sure to point the match down until the fire fully catches (and remember, close to the body). Else the flame will go out in the midst of the ceremony: a peculiar failing of homosexual match-strikers.

Extinguish the flame by shaking it briefly and vigorously, either wigwagging or flicking the hand as you would shake down a thermometer. Better yet, blow it out; but do so by holding the flame practically against the lips and exhaling sharply, with the mouth barely open. The effeminate way is to lift the chin slowly, purse the lips, and gently direct a prolonged flow of air at it. In practicing the match act, forget any fear you might have of fire. You may get scorched, but you'll never be hospitalized by it; and eventually your ease of performance will help confuse anyone who thinks he has your number. If the whole routine is too tedious a job to bother with, buy a lighter. There's little you can do wrong with a lighter, except to operate it with a motion of the entire arm instead of the thumb alone.

Learn the masculine manner of smoking, Johnnie. This too is an exacting accomplishment, but like handling matches, it is important. As you know, cigars are devastatingly masculine. If you could learn to like them your smoking problem would be over. But it isn't likely you are among those rare homosexuals who can appreciate the gutty taste. Next comes the pipe, a method of smoking more acceptable to homosexuals, though still not widely used. When a homosexual smokes a pipe, he usually is the quiet, steady typeor wants to give that impression. Oddly, if the high-strung jittery kind learns to smoke a pipe with any aplomb, it can do just that for him. He appears at peace with the world and gives the impression of being a man of infinite wisdom.

third, and the most important, are cigarettes-your big vice and mine—

with which thousands of gay males unwittingly call attention to themselves every time they light up.

Rule One is never to tamp a cigarette by patting its tip against the nail of your thumb. If the tobacco is loosely packed, drop the cigarette deftly and with some force against any flat and solid surface available—or as a very last resort against the back of the hand or the cigarette package. But don't overdo it. Usually a single tap is sufficient, while three should be the limit. In transferring the cigarette to your lips, hold the end of it the way you would grasp a hammer. And place it in the side of the mouth, never dead center.

Rule Two: Never remove a cigarette from your mouth with a two-fingered Boy Scout salute (i.e., gripping it between the tips of your extended first and second fingers). Catch it between the thumb and second finger, making sure that the little finger doesn't spring out of formation as you do. If, while lower ing it, you want a real Dead-End-Kid effect, hold it in such a way that the lighted end is cupped by the hand. No matter how you remove it, however, always hold the palm downward or toward the body, never face up. Conducive to nicotine stains? It is. But you have to choose between fastidiousness and typical masculine disregard for it. Less extreme, though still effectively masculine, is the habit of removing the cigarette with the crotch of the first two fingers, palm almost touching the mouth, fingers closed and slightly curved; then, while lowering the hand, further curving the fingers to form a half fist.

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