Gabriel's Tell A Tale Emporium

Cultural Practices vs. Government Laws In the past two years the use of hookah, which are water pipes used to smoke flavored tobacco or herbal molasses, has been a hotly debated issue all over the province of Alberta.   On November 7, 2013 an amendment was passed to Bill 33, which originally prohibited smoking in public places and workplaces, banned retail displays and advertising of tobacco products, and prohibited the sale of tobacco products in university campuses and stores that have a pharmacy in them, to include the ban of smoking tobacco like products in public places and vehicles.   The government of Alberta has been trying to crack down on smoking for the past six years but the new amendment has proven to have a strong cultural impact on people of Middle Eastern decent living in the province.   The use of hookah is a common and accepted cultural and social practice in many Middle Eastern cultures that dates back hundreds of years.   Many people of Mid

Smoaked Out- Ch.5 December. 12. 2012             What a crazy two days it's been.   The good thing about crazy days though is that I get to write in you more often!   Now where to start?   I guess the most logical place would be the phone call to Mr. Steele that I made last night.             I was sitting at my desk while going through the list of names in Mrs. Queen's notebook when I noticed something odd.   Just to be sure my hunch was right I ended up cross checking with some recent news reports on the web.   As always, my hunch turned out to be right, well at least in my mind.   Picking up the phone I quickly dialed Mr. Steele's cell number to share the news (I only have his number for 'work' related purposes...nothing more.   Plus, he's way too old, and married, and ew).             "I'm in the middle of a dinner party Ms. Smoak.   I hope this of some importance," Mr. Steele said as he answered my call.

Smoaked Out-Ch.4 December. 5. 2012 Good evening/ morning Diary,             You know how I said before that work's been pretty boring lately?   Well, I take that back.   The last two days were actually quite interesting.   What happened you ask?   Well let me tell you.   For the past few days I've been doing some extracurricular work, particularly on the subject of Ms. Queen's accidental money mishap.   As luck would have it, or skill in this case, I found something.   With Mr. Steele coming back from his trip the same day, I decided not to waste any time in telling him...and hey I may even get a possible promotion because I'm so good at what I do (Not only was that not the case, but I almost got fired in the process!).             Walking into Mr. Steele's office later that evening I quickly grabbed his attention with my world famous humor...and by world famous I mean I'm the only one who seems to get it.             &q