Post by judyb on Sept 7, 2004 11:23:50 GMT -5
“My Cigarette, My Friend?”
by Joel Spitzer
How do you feel about a friend who has to go everywhere with you? Not only
does he tag along all the time, but since he is so offensive and vulgar, you
become unwelcome when with him. He has a peculiar odor that sticks to you
wherever you go. Others think both of you stink.
He controls you totally. When he says jump, you jump. Sometimes in the middle
of a blizzard or storm, he wants you to come to the store and pick him up. You
would give your spouse hell if he or she did that to you all the time, but you
can't argue with your friend. Sometimes, when you are out at a movie or play he
says he wants you to go stand in the lobby with him and miss important scenes.
Since he calls all the shots in your life, you go.
Your friend doesn't like your choice of clothing either. Instead of politely telling
you that you have lousy taste, he burns little holes in these items so you will
want to throw them out. Sometimes, he tires of the furniture and gets rid of it
too. Occasionally, he gets really nasty and decides the whole house must go.
He gets pretty expensive to support. Not only is his knack of property
destruction costly, but you must pay to keep him with you. In fact, he will cost
you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. And you can count on one thing, he
will never pay you a penny in return.
Often at picnics you watch others playing vigorous activities and having lots of
fun doing them. But your friend won't let you. He doesn't believe in physical
activity. In his opinion, you are too old to have that kind of fun. So he kind of
sits on your chest and makes it difficult for you to breathe. Now you don't want
to go off and play with other people when you can't breathe, do you?
Your friend does not believe in being healthy. He is really repulsed by the
thought of you living a long and productive life. So every chance he gets he
makes you sick. He helps you catch colds and flu. Not just by running out in the
middle of the lousy weather to pick him up at the store. He is more creative than
that. He carries thousands of poisons with him which he constantly blows in your
face. When you inhale some of them, they wipe out cilia in your lungs which
would have helped you prevent these diseases.
But colds and flu are just his form of child's play. He especially likes diseases
that slowly cripple you—like emphysema. He considers this disease great. Once
he gets you to have this, you will give up all your other friends, family, career
goals, activities—everything. You will just sit home and caress him, telling him
what a great friend he is while you desperately gasp for air.
But eventually your friend tires of you. He decides he no longer wishes to have
your company. Instead of letting you go your separate ways, he decides to kill
you. He has a wonderful arsenal of weapons behind him. In fact, he has been
plotting your death since the day you met him. He picked all the top killers in
society and did everything in his power to ensure you would get one of them. He
overworked your heart and lungs. He clogged up the arteries to your heart,
brain, and every other part of your body. In case you were too strong to
succumb to this, he constantly exposed you to cancer causing agents. He knew
he would get you sooner or later.
Well, this is the story of your "friend," your cigarette. No real friend would do all
this to you. Cigarettes are the worst possible enemies you ever had. They are
expensive, addictive, socially unacceptable, and deadly. Consider all this and
NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!
by Joel Spitzer
How do you feel about a friend who has to go everywhere with you? Not only
does he tag along all the time, but since he is so offensive and vulgar, you
become unwelcome when with him. He has a peculiar odor that sticks to you
wherever you go. Others think both of you stink.
He controls you totally. When he says jump, you jump. Sometimes in the middle
of a blizzard or storm, he wants you to come to the store and pick him up. You
would give your spouse hell if he or she did that to you all the time, but you
can't argue with your friend. Sometimes, when you are out at a movie or play he
says he wants you to go stand in the lobby with him and miss important scenes.
Since he calls all the shots in your life, you go.
Your friend doesn't like your choice of clothing either. Instead of politely telling
you that you have lousy taste, he burns little holes in these items so you will
want to throw them out. Sometimes, he tires of the furniture and gets rid of it
too. Occasionally, he gets really nasty and decides the whole house must go.
He gets pretty expensive to support. Not only is his knack of property
destruction costly, but you must pay to keep him with you. In fact, he will cost
you thousands of dollars over your lifetime. And you can count on one thing, he
will never pay you a penny in return.
Often at picnics you watch others playing vigorous activities and having lots of
fun doing them. But your friend won't let you. He doesn't believe in physical
activity. In his opinion, you are too old to have that kind of fun. So he kind of
sits on your chest and makes it difficult for you to breathe. Now you don't want
to go off and play with other people when you can't breathe, do you?
Your friend does not believe in being healthy. He is really repulsed by the
thought of you living a long and productive life. So every chance he gets he
makes you sick. He helps you catch colds and flu. Not just by running out in the
middle of the lousy weather to pick him up at the store. He is more creative than
that. He carries thousands of poisons with him which he constantly blows in your
face. When you inhale some of them, they wipe out cilia in your lungs which
would have helped you prevent these diseases.
But colds and flu are just his form of child's play. He especially likes diseases
that slowly cripple you—like emphysema. He considers this disease great. Once
he gets you to have this, you will give up all your other friends, family, career
goals, activities—everything. You will just sit home and caress him, telling him
what a great friend he is while you desperately gasp for air.
But eventually your friend tires of you. He decides he no longer wishes to have
your company. Instead of letting you go your separate ways, he decides to kill
you. He has a wonderful arsenal of weapons behind him. In fact, he has been
plotting your death since the day you met him. He picked all the top killers in
society and did everything in his power to ensure you would get one of them. He
overworked your heart and lungs. He clogged up the arteries to your heart,
brain, and every other part of your body. In case you were too strong to
succumb to this, he constantly exposed you to cancer causing agents. He knew
he would get you sooner or later.
Well, this is the story of your "friend," your cigarette. No real friend would do all
this to you. Cigarettes are the worst possible enemies you ever had. They are
expensive, addictive, socially unacceptable, and deadly. Consider all this and
NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!