Thinking Out Loud
Up In Smoke

March 18, 2012       Leave A Comment
By: Diane Szczepanski

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"Get me well so I can get on television and tell people to stop smoking." ~ Nat King Cole

Beloved by many for his soft baritone voice, Nat King Cole, mild mannered crooner and a self-admitted heavy smoker, died of lung cancer on February 15, 1965.

But, I'm not about to preach. It would be highly pretentious of me to think I could sermonize on ANY subject. Though, I will spout off from time to time on the virtues of getting outside to enjoy a warm, sunny day.

I'm also not here to stand on any soapbox, point any fingers or behave like one of those obnoxious reformed smokers.

We all know one.

They're the holier than thou, former smokers turned "tsk-tsk'ers", who look down their olfactory appendage at the population of smokers, who haven't gotten on the quitting bandwagon just quite yet.

Nor am I after praise, a pat on the back or kudos in any way, shape or form. A 'high five' might have been due to me if I had never started smoking in the first place.

All I really have to say is that Tuesday, March 20th, 2012, marks the 3rd anniversary of the last time a cigarette has been in my hands.

And if I can claim and celebrate this type of anniversary--YOU can.

I won't be obnoxious and arrogant and fill you with platitudes of the benefits of quitting smoking. The list is long, well-publicized and we all know what they are.

[Yes, even smokers know the benefits of quitting. We're smokers, not idiots.]

I won't point out how much money I've saved or present you with an impressive dollar figure that I've tallied.

Frankly, at the rate everything else has increased in cost during the last three years, it has been hard to even measure it's impact on my finances.

There are really only a couple things I would like to say on the subject, so today's column will be short and sweet.

One, I DO enjoy the way I smell. It's lovely to use perfume for it's pretty bouquet on my skin, not as a cover-up of my last cigarette. The car smells good, the house is fresh and my fingers don't stink. I rather like that.

And two, when you are ready to quit, really truly ready, you will and you won't look back. You may be tempted from time to time, as I still am, but you won't give in.

Coming from someone who smoked for more years than I care to admit, you just have to trust me on this one. Because, if I was able to kick the habit, ANYONE can.

Maybe that's all that Nat King Cole would have said, if he'd had the chance. I would like to think he wouldn't have played on sympathy, used snobbery or spewed arrogantly. His message too may have been short, sweet and to the point.

May he rest in peace.

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Diane Szczepanski
Business-woman by day, confessed boot addict by night and 'wanna-be' writer, music lover and proud Mom of an awesome guitar playing, teen son. More from Diane Szczepanski

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