Smokin’ and Drinkin’
Smokin’The man in the hospital bed next to mine back in Fitzsimmons Army Medical never smoked a day in his life. The doctors told him he had pancreatic cancer directly linked to smoking and less than six months to live. The time spent in the smoke filled break rooms as an Air Force flight mechanic were going to kill him. Now the doctors were asking him to stay at the hospital for three more months to try an experimental chemo treatment that “might give you five more years.” How do you council a man who turns to you asking “should I give up what may be ½ of the rest of my life here or spend it with my wife and children.” That was twenty three years ago and still haunts me. I will not, willingly, stay anyplace that people are smoking. I know from watching his pain that it’s not a safe place for my body to be.{{more}} I can remember when cigarettes went up in price from $1.25 a carton of 20 packs to $2.00 and now see them at $5.00 or more a pack and think this is a good thing but still see people putting down a twenty dollar bill for three packs and saying “it’s not expensive enough YET to stop.” It is an addiction and when it gets too expensive to buy working for a living – some of these people will start breaking into cars and homes the same way as the coke, heroin and meth addicts do now.Drinkin’When I was in second grade, one of my classmates got a straight A report card. All week we heard of the plans for Friday night. “A hamburger, french fries and a banana split at the Roden Smith Rexall drug store on Main Street of Clovis followed by a movie just across the street” was her joyful refrain all week to the rest of us. Instead the co-owner and pharmacist came to work drunk. This was his 16th official arrest for DWI and he had lost his license long ago but the local police looked the other way when he drove to work and back. While my classmate and her parents sat at the counter, he finished off the bottle of whiskey and started for work. While they were eating the banana splits – he drove thru the wall of the store and killed my classmate and her father. The mother lost both legs and one arm. He did not even spend the night in jail. This was horrifying to a second grader both because of the death of a classmate but it also destroyed my faith in the law because this man killed her and never really was punished. I have had an extremely low tolerance for inebriated people ever since. So, if you are intoxicated and still remember my rudeness the next day – be glad that my wife has civilized me and I no longer look for ways to pre-punish your actions.
