July 13, 2009
Posted by Hank
I Only Smoke In Bed
I wrote most of the following while enjoying my non-vice, a smoking hot cup of Devil Dog Brew Classic Roast.
Delta Bravo Sierra, I never know what my Army buddy Damon’s going to be stirring up but I’m curious how much attitudes have changed out there about smoking in recent years. I still have never been able to reconcile the fact that men and women are old enough to fight for their country but not old enough to drink. I believe too often our culture raises kids to be kids instead of adults. I’d trust my 18 year old with a beer if it was legal, and I’d sure as hell trust him more than most college kids I know but that’s another story. My 16 and 12 year old qualify in that department but then again I’m raising boys to be men. I digress. But on the issue of smoking, well, I’ve told all my boys I’d kick their ass if they started smoking and it’s a threat without limitation. I don’t care how old they are. My oldest let me know he was close to being able to take me, I reminded him my pain threshold was higher. That’s pretty much how I feel about smoking so I guess it’s fairly clear where I stand on drugs in my household.
Anyway, you’ll have to look at Damon’s cartoon regarding the subject of smoking and I’ll repeat some of my comments here that I posted there.
[CAUTION THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT DBS IS ADDICTIVE]
DBS always evokes something, but my response was a little longer in tooth than I anticipated… sign of old age? In agreement with his cartoon, I can’t say I don’t like telling a pencil necked bureaucrat to kiss off and I usually don’t need much of an excuse to do so but first I’ll reflect a bit while I stew on this one.
Growing up I was the toddler in the back seat of the car with two parents that liked to choke me out with their delightful habit, an oblivion shared by many of their generation. Odd that most cops (dad) and most school teachers (mom) that I knew smoked. Most I can recall from the early 70’s had adopted the addiction. Did I avoid this ‘tar’ baby? Well, not quite. At 16 it was cool at my Texas high school to chew or dip tobacco and if you wore jeans and cowboy boots chances are you had the tell-tell ring around your right back pocket that proved you were either a skoal or copenhagen man. My appaloosa had penchant for red man, cured worms I’m told.
Wine, women, and song, as an enlisted Marine I spent my money on beer and women. Cigarettes didn’t have much appeal, besides I was a runner, though by comparison SSgt Lenihan broke the sound barrier, the habit didn’t seem to slow him down.
Fond memories of the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility pronounced ‘skiff’) When I worked in dark & damp confined intel spaces there was a particular porkulant Navy chief that enjoyed torturing us with the foulest cheap cigars he could find. No windows, poor ventilation. Back then, as a young Corporal I growled a bit, the thought of brig time for slugging him in his fat puss didn’t quite peg my insubordination meter, but it came close.
Smoking lamps, traditions, a cigar once or twice a year, maybe a random cigarette or two. Fortunately this beast never fully got his hooks into me. Old history, and I’m thankful that my folks kicked a habit adding perhaps a few more years to their lifespan.
Our oldest son was asthmatic and we’ve never allowed smoking in our house even before his arrival, so I can’t say I defended restaurant owners that wanted to fight the no smoking ban, the libertarian in me doesn’t like to impose, as I like my rum and my vices, I just can’t make much sense out of promoting black lung.
Read this a couple of weeks back. Fighting Off Merchant’s Of Death by Mark Levitt -Page 7 of the Levitt Letter It’s a PDF File with quite a few articles you’ll have to go to page 7 to read what I read. Back to me.
My basic approach to Marines that smoked, especially juniors, was that I thought anyone that smoked on a regular basis was a jackass, there was just too much literature out there that indicated how detrimental and reckless it was.
Just some not necessarily cogent thoughts for my buddy Damon and the friends of KDH.
What do you folks think about smoking in the military? I’m curious…
With Utmost Respect ~ Semper Fi, Hank
Used by permission KDH Copyright © 2009 Sniper’s Brew All Rights Reserved.
6 Comments
July 13, 2009
Curious … I anticipated a twscrossroads post but not a kdh post. I guess I’m getting short sighted in my own old age.
July 13, 2009
Its a dirty habit! I would consider it “conduct unbecoming”. Certainly not in keeping with the honor and dignity of the “blood stripe”. Absolutely no smoking in uniform. I might be able to look the other way in a combat zone however. Well done Hank!
July 13, 2009
Damon you’re the wise Jedi, I’m the impulsive Jarhead that says, hmmmm I’m more than a little behind on posts to KDH, I better come up with some inspiration and quick. Then waaalaaa DBS = Inspiration.
July 13, 2009
I hate smoking. I hate it with a passion. I see first hand in loved ones the health, vigor and future that smoking is taking away. I think to smoke once a day like Andy Griffith did is one thing, but to smoke like a freight train is going to wreck your health I don’t care who you are. My mother finally put cigarettes down, but she was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to have half a lung removed. Fortunately she has stood her ground, and I am very proud of her for that. I can’t imagine where she would be today if she had refused to quit. If people can quit shooting heroine, I know they can quit cigarettes. It’s just a matter of what’s important to them and how much they are wiling to suffer. It’s a sacrifice to quit, but one worth making.
We don’t allow smoking in our house either and we never will.
With that said… Hank, our oldest son does smoke. I really wish he wouldn’t, but I also have seen his anxiety go out the roof, and to be honest with you…. considering the options, right now I am not going to give him any hell about it. It’s hard when you look into the face of your son and you know he has buried more friends than you have. You know his eyes have witnessed people blown to bits, he has seen more hell on earth than I will ever share on KDH out of respect to him.
So, he comes home from war, and gets virtually NO down time at all. No time to decompress. No time for mental health. No time to come down off of the adrenaline high before he is told he is headed back out. I am a mental health professional, and I will tell you that compressed, back to back to back to back trauma like that does lend itself to addiction. I personally think that cigarettes in the military are a neuroses. It’s not a slam — it’s a testimony to our soldiers’ humanity.
I don’t know. Part of me wants to say to the Army — Maybe soldiers will quit smoking when Army policy quits being so damned stupid. Maybe soldiers can quit smoking when they can seek out mental health support without fear of it hurting their careers or without fear of retribution. Maybe smoking would be easier to give up if we let some of these guys have a moment to collect their thoughts and actually grieve their losses before we ship them back out.
I don’t know… over worked machines often blow gaskets — and they smoke. Sad part is, these are men…
I wish there was an easy answer. These wars are wearing our combat grunts down – like a pencil through a sharpener.
July 14, 2009
Oh, and I just had to add that, according to Damon, the only smokin’ hot thing in this house is me. It’s hard being the trophy wife to a cartoonist, but at least I’m not Jessica Rabbit, I get the man, not the ‘toon.
July 14, 2009
Claire,
Like Damon suggested, I’ll probably try to figure out how to port this over to TWSCrossroads and open up the discussion. As far as your son goes, well, my only place is to thank him for his service and for this retired Marine it is my honor to do so.
And Claire, just another big thanks to you for being you.
Semper Fi, Hank
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