As we all get older, we tend to reflect back on the things we did and didn’t do as a young smart kid and young adult. All the opportunities we took advantage of or missed are still etched in our memories. There’s the fear of asking that great looking cheerleader for a date because we were afraid of being rejected, and the anxiety of getting pulled over while driving way too fast with friends in the car. We all have to live with those choices we made even the deadly one of taking up smoking.
A good friend and brother-in-law died last night. We fished together, played baseball together, drank a few beers together. He chose to be a smoker and he never quit.
He was a navy guy on a sub in Subic Bay when the Vietnam War started. He hunted, loved the outdoors and visited most every national park in the United States. Many could say he lived a great life.
Bull. He died young because he smoked. It took years to eat away at him, but cancer won and he lost. I have no scientific data, but my guess is that smoking takes at least ten years off anyone’s life. He could have had another ten years to fish, play golf, and even tell a few lies. The only ones who might be happy about that are the Steelhead swimming up river.
So if you are a smoker, quit now. Not tomorrow, but right now. Throw that pack of Camels in the garbage and live a few more years. You might just get the chance to see your grandchildren graduate from high school.
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