September 27, 2013 (Friday)
I’ve written a few nostalgic blogs about the past. I wrote about stuff I loved that used to be commonplace but is hard to find these days. Today I want to mention something from the past that I do not miss.
I don’t miss the smoke-filled rooms. Growing up in an era where virtually every adult smoked, buildings were always filled with smoke. There was no escape. Is it any wonder that I developed asthma? Wherever we went in those “good old days,” there was a cloud of smoke. Outdoor sports like football were sometimes clouded from view by the smoke (I can hear somebody saying, “it ain’t so,” but it’s the truth). Needless to say, the indoor arenas were filled with the stuff. Eating out was always done in a smokey place.
I’m not trying to overstate my case, but I also do not miss the ever-present sputum on the sidewalks and parking lots. Tobacco produced not only smoke, but spit, and it was the nasty kind. I don’t miss the hooping, coughing and hawking. My grandparents, whom I loved very much, used snuff and that meant we kids had to be careful not to disturb the spittoons (usually a used can of some kind). (In the real old days churches used to have beautiful brass or china spittoons near the pews).
I don’t miss visiting sick people who were dying from the effects of tobacco.
I’m glad that folks don’t smoke as much as they did when I was growing up. I’m sure that many lives have been saved by this fact.
I would have have liked adding humor to this blog, but it’s just not a funny subject. However, Bob Newhart had a hilarious routine about it and it’s on You Tube. Just look up Bob Newhart and “Nutty Walt.”