When my dear departed friend Barbara
quit smoking several years ago she used to say to me sometimes, "I
want a cigarette so bad I could rip the lips off a kitten", and
I'd laugh at her because WTF? That's crazy talk Barbara! Think of
your own cats ma'am! LOL But seriously, it was especially funny
because Barbara was a total animal lover and all around wonderful
person who would never harm another living thing, and there she'd go
talking about disfiguring a baby cat for want of nicotine. Addiction
is hell.
Just to give you a little backstory
here, I've been prone to bronchitis for a while now and generally
come down with it a least once a year. Over the last couple of years
however, it's become more frequent and for a while I was afraid I
might have some sort of autoimmune lung issue. I might also be a
legitimate hypochondriac too, but that's another story.
Anyway, this past December I took on
another bout of bronchitis. Well ain't nobody got time for that, so I went to the doctor straight away and as usual he suggested I quit smoking. Now normally when this happens I take a temporary
break from smoking. I can't taste the cigarettes so even if I might
crave one initially, there's no point to it. Then there's that whole
smoking significantly impeding my reoccupation thing, so
whatever. I'll just wait it out.
I was never what you'd call a heavy
smoker as it was. One pack would generally last me 3 to 4 days, but I
guess when you're inhaling poison on a daily basis it's pretty much a
quality over quantity issue so I don't guess that really matters.
Well, today I'm here to tell you that it's been approximately 4
months since my last cigarette. If a year ago you had told me that I
would be off cigarettes I would have told you that quitters never
win, because I'm sarcastic and loved smoking.
I still kinda miss smoking though, and
some of the activities that generally accompanied it. For instance,
smoking while blasting Night Train by Guns N' Roses in my car and
feeling like a a bit of a rock star, (or what I like to imagine a
rock star might fee like whilst smoking in their car, rocking out to
GNR) I miss that. I miss chatting with my friend Barbara over
cigarettes and the occasional beer. I miss the rush of the nicotine
in my blood stream; and the glow of a cigarette in the dark and the
scent and the look of white tendrils of smoke curling up into the
night sky.
Still, in hindsight quitting smoking
has proved relatively positive. I don't squander $20 to $30 a week on
carcinogens. I pretty much quit drinking as well since I'd want a
cigarette if I did drink and since I don't have any cigarettes I'd
rather not drink. And finally, to date, I haven't had any
congestion/bronchitis issues, which is a huge relief in more ways
than one.
When I started writing this I have to
say I really I wanted a cigarette so bad I could have ripped the lips
off my own cat. Fortunately for Viktor however, I remembered Barbara and how
she quit and started to write about it. I think my quitting and
writing about it is a good way to honor her memory and re-live a
little bit of our friendship that I miss so much. Thanks Barbara!
Thanks for saving Viktor's lips and for everything else....
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