PONDERING

I was just talking to a good friend and we discussed some stupid but fun things we had done in the past. One of my stupid things was to sneak cigarettes from my parent's store and run (literally running) downtown to smoke in Ball Stores' restroom. I was twelve or thirteen at the time. I was working at the store and I knew the times when business would be slow so I'd lock the store to go to Ball Stores. I would only smoke one cigarette and sometimes I would throw the rest of the pack away or if I was bold enough to take a purse with me, I'd put the pack in my purse so I would appear grown up.

Now Ball Stores was only a few blocks away or at least it seemed like it back then so I was able to smoke and run back home in about ten to fifteen minutes. I would unlock the store, go in and act like I had been there all along. I wonder if my mother and father ever realized what I was doing. 

I also remember going to the Bahamas on my Senior trip and cigarettes were $.25 a pack. I smoked like a chimney the entire trip and when I got home I couldn't talk. A guy I liked just happened to call me that day and my throat was so sore I couldn't talk to him. He never called back.

Also in 1988 when cigarettes were $1.25 I bought a pack of my favorite brand. One cigarette made me sick. I bought a milder brand, one of those cigarettes made me sick too. I bought a third pack and when I got sick that time I threw all three packs away. I found out a few days later I was having gallbladder problems and ended up having surgery the following week. Needless to say I quit smoking cold turkey. Gained a lot of weight but maybe I saved my lungs.

I'm not advocating smoking at all; in fact I just found out my birth mother died from smoking. So while some of the memories are fun to think back on I'm glad cigarettes are no longer my crutch


Welcome to my rants and other ramblings!

Rosa