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Sitting at the picnic table, José used my Leatherman to disassemble his CD player. When he finished prying apart the case, removing the screws, pulling out the circuit boards, and unplugging the candy-striped diodes, parts were scattered everywhere—on the bench, in his lap, and in the grass at his bare toes. I was certain this effort would be futile.

I was wrong.

After dabbing the electronic guts with the corner of a bandanna, José reached into his pack and produced an “all-purpose hood utility kit”—a pack of Kool Menthols. He was trying to quit smoking, but he had brought them along in case of emergency. He promptly lit up two cigarettes and dragged them down while holding the components close to his lips, saturating them in a stream of smoke.

“This is how you do it, bro. The smoke dries that shit out.”

Less than an hour later, José swaggered around the campground, gesturing wildly with his hands and vocalizing at maximum volume, seemingly oblivious to the frightened families looking on.