If I had the perfect night
I'd have a thousand cigarettes
Long skinny and white.
Or short and fat, light 'em up
A thousand cigarettes
With a big brown butt.
Homo Erectus....probably took a puff or two
From the fire in the cave
And....the Cro Magnon too
If I had the perfect life
I'd have a thousand cigarettes
Rolled up tight.
I started stealing my mother's Pall Malls(nonfilters) from the closet when I was 12 years old. Despite the dizziness, I continued to smoke for the next 40+ years. Then one day I looked in the mirror at my not so young oxygen deprived face and made a decision. Not normally prone toward vanity, I found myself wanting to salvage any rosiness of skin I could, plus save what breath I had left for my singing career. So I quit, although I still indulge when partying.
Man has been inhaling smoke since prehistoric times. There is something intensely gratifying for the human creature in swallowing these vapors. It's a great equalizer of the planet. A truly universal and adored activity.
But now it's become the devil's hot stick, and as usual the scare is exaggerated, the public suitably terrified. Cities are outlawing the evil practice, but the long term effect of the crackdown remains to be seen.
Granted, smoking is unhealthy. I'm happy to be free of bondage to the pleasure packed sticks. Ending the habit can be done when a person is ready and the decision firmly made. But for those of you who still inhale, knowing the difficulty of ceasing ....take heart. The Japanese are among the longest living in the world and half of them smoke. And Jeanne Calmett(a Pisces) lived to be 120 years old. She quit smoking at 118. Her face was rather wrinkled, however.
By the way. Smoking is allowed here at Raging Universe.