Friday, October 31, 2008

Seriously, wouldn't a bullet be quicker?

I was a smoker. For almost 25 years of my life. I know the addiction, I know what it feels like to try to quit when you're not ready. Yet, I am still amazed by the news I heard today. Some guy started a fire in an apartment complex because he was smoking. No, he didn't fall asleep, he wasn't drunk, he didn't even leave it unattended. No, he was smoking while using an oxygen mask. Yeah. The guy's lungs are so messed up, presumably by (or at least worsened by) his smoking, he was probably warned that oxygen was flammable, and he's smoking.
Now, yes, I was a smoker. I was addicted and continued to smoke despite knowing the dangers. But the truth is that it was the fear of the oxygen mask that made me quit. Cut 20 years off my life, BFD, at least I'm enjoying life. Costs $5 a day, so my mortgage is a hell of a lot more. Then one day I saw some woman struggling to make it through Smith's, hauling her oxygen tank with her, on her motorized cart and still exhausted from the ordeal. And it occurred to me I could have to live like that for the last 20 years of my life. Oh, I want to live to be 130, but only if I'm going to be able to enjoy it. I do not believe in life for life's sake, sacrosanct above all else regardless of the conditions of that life. Now, hopefully my siblings won't take that to mean they can pull the plug the first time I need a hemorrhoid removed, but if there's no chance of recovery with any reasonable quality of life, ciao bella.
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1 comment:

A Paperback Writer said...

Hmmm.... maybe he should have just cleaned his furnace with Lysol instead. Same effect.