She was a lovely Lady of Asiatic extraction, sheltering Herself in an office doorway as I passed by.
She was enduring this chilly exile in order to enjoy a cigarette.
She drew in a "snap" inhale as I approached, a nearly lost art in the world of smoking. I smiled and bid Her a warm hello, which I hope made it very clear that at least one person on Planet Earth did not in the least mind a little secondhand smoke drifting his way, nor did I find the sight of Her infuriating, engaged in a still legal but proscribed activity such as is the enjoyment of tobacco these days. (There are certain states where new restrictions make it all too clear that beyond the protection of health, certain legislators do not even wish to see anyone smoking in public).
I slid into my car and examined my maps for directions back out of the city. I caught a final glimpse of Her carefully extinguishing Her cigarette in an ashtray several footsteps away -- proving that not all smokers are butt-flinging reprobates.
Friday, November 21, 2008
A November moment
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3 comments:
What a sweetie you are ECD. I saw a post - a photo - on a blog somewhere a few months back and oh my the comments! I didn't know smoking was so hated. People go on and on about how it causes cancer and kills you ...and yet my beloved Papa who never smoked a day in his life, nor even been in the presence of smoke, who was a hard-working farmer in excellent health passed away last month from cancer. He was riddled with it( even in his back they tell me). Over half the patients in the hospice had never ever smoked. Makes one wonder does it not?
Well, I won't deny that it is not a healthy habit. But neither will the average soul keel over dead from occasional exposure to secondhand smoke, or even from being a casual smoker.
Nor do I like the incredible amount of rudeness that seems to be acceptable these days towards persons who smoke, as You saw on that blog.
It is one thing for airplanes and hospitals to be declared off limits to smoking. It is another thing entirely to ban it from parks, beaches and public sidewalks.
It is one thing to encourage people to shed the habit. It is another thing entirely to turn into shrieking harridans pointing a trembling, furious finger at both friends and perfect strangers who will not bow to our demand that they quit.
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