as the 4th of july weekend winds down i am realizing that like america herself i can celebrate independence.  from smoking.  and i was in thrall.  i made major life decisions around smoking; planned trips with stops, booked smoking rooms, bought cartons on vacation.  i actually bought a condo because there was a convenience store in the building.  o.k., that's an exaggeration, but i viewed it as a major plus.  the idea of being able to run downstairs at midnight for cigarettes was decadent and delightful.  smoking friends envied me.  but i haven't smoked in over a year.  i spent a week in the hospital, was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease and wound up with 8 stents.  so the actual act of quitting took place while i was an inpatient.  the first step i took upon returning home was to beg the store owners NOT to sell me cigarettes.  fortunately for them (though not for me) i replaced the revenue with candy!  and i did gain weight.  then i lost it.  any and every thing that occurred during the course of breaking that habit was worth it.

   last night i was on the phone with my sister as she went into a gas station for her marlboro lights (can i use a brand name here?) she didn't have her wallet and was paying with change and singles scrapped together from glove box and seats.  and they were over 6 dollars!!!  she was 75 cents short and the proprietor fronted her the difference.  my first comment to her was " how cool, what a nice guy"  and maybe he is.  but not for that reason.  maybe he could have turned her away and gave her a longer life.  not his responsibility, i know, but still.....  i'm very sensitive about being "preachy", however the cost of smoking is so great and in the end winds up being paid for by our loved ones who cry over our smoking related hardships and may one day even mourn.  we're all in this together.  even the statue of liberty beseeches us to "breathe free".  so be a lifesaver.  if you still smoke,quit.  if someone tries to bum a cigarette say "no".  donate 75 cents (or more) to the american cancer society.  if you've successfully quit be a "freedom fighter" and help someone else through the incredibly trying process of quitting.  it's an act of patriotism!