Smoking is great

Smoking is great, and it remains great despite all the death and general disgusting side-effects.

I smoked my first pack of cigarettes when I was 8. We were living in North Carolina, and I simply went to the corner gas station and requested a pack of Camel filters for my dad. I remember this vividly because it was so exciting. It was naughty, I had to lie, and smoking cigarettes was bad. My dad would kill me, but I did it anyways, and it was great.

I smoked the cigarettes behind our house in an alley with a friend who was scared as hell we would get caught. But I wasn't scared. I felt like a bad-ass.

I didn't start smoking regularly till high school; After joining the football team. I was horrible at football, but It turned out that almost everyone on the football team smoked, which I was really good at. There was something exciting and rebellious about spending all week getting in shape, and then huffing down packs of Marlboro reds all weekend.

In 11 grade I got back into skateboarding and snowboarding, and thankfully most of those friends smoked. In Michigan one of the best smokes to be had was in the middle of winter, riding up a chair. Snow lightly falling all around you, floating up through clean crisp air, with no other place to be or things to worry about. Lighting up a warm minty Marlboro solidified the experience, burning the feeling into your soul . Sounds like poetry because it is.

The cigarette didn't make the snowboarding better, it just made it all more spiritual.

This feeling goes way way back too. 

Early north American Indians held tobacco, and the smoking of in a very high place. They believed that tobacco was a gift from the creator and famously smoked tobacco during sacred ceremonies to seal bargains They believed that the smoke was capable of carrying ones thoughts and prayers to heaven. While most modern smokers probably wouldn't go this far with it, I'd bet most would agree that their smoking goes beyond the obvious.

And that's the real reason I think its so hard for people to quit. Blaming it all on nicotine is too easy for those who don't understand the ritual part of it. 

I quit smoking in college, not because I really wanted to, but because it was hurting my throat. After quitting I can honestly say that I felt healthier. I could breath better that's for sure. And not having to worry so much about the cancer was nice too. But I lost something as well. I was no longer in the club. No reason to sneak out back with my buddy for a quick one, and share a quick bit of gossip. No reason to get out of my desk at work and take a quick 5. No instant friends out on the street in the cold. Nothing to help me look like I have something to do, when I really don't. 

I have a good friend who's trying to quit smoking. Part of me hope's he fails. He looks like such a bad ass when he smokes and I love it. Maybe that's because I learned to feel that way, but I enjoy watching him and other people smoke cigarettes in the same way co-workers with kids and wives still love to hear about all the singles kids crazy weekends. living vicariously is still living.

I started smoking again. But this time I'm using one of those new Ecigs you might  have heard about. I can hear the sighs already. But really, no carcinogens, no smoke, no stink, and yet the holding, inhaling, taste and feeling remain intact. There's no lighting to do, which is a bit of a drag, and so far Ive had more then a few people say it looks really stupid. But that's ok because I like it. It's fun, reminds me of how great smoking was, and its nice to add a bit of spirituality back into life. Even though it's relatively healthy compared to traditional cigarettes, there's still enough people who detest it to allow me to feel like I'm rebelling, like I'm being a bit naughty. That's good because it keeps things exciting, keeps me feeling like a bad ass. I'm trying to get all my friends hooked too. Soon enough we'll all be in the club again.