Posted on 01/26/2005 3:06:33 PM PST by Rennes Templar
There are two kinds of conversations about Johnny Carson. One kind is the one most of you are having. It is light and interesting, about showbiz, TV, popular culture. Then there is the other conversation many of us have been avoiding.
-snip-
A part of it (the conversation)landed on my desk with a little thump. It was a package, about the size of your palm, with a brown camel on it, two pyramids and three palm trees.
"You can have them," said a friend who tossed them, casual in voice, though there was no missing the symbolism of it, his casting away of the Camels.
"I'm done with them," he said. "I quit."
-snip-
Carson's death could have been due to pneumonia, to infection, or it could have been respiratory failure. Either way it was private, and ugly.
I thought of him suffering amidst tubes.
"You can quit," Dr. Gross said. "You can have a life. You can quit."
I've failed before. And I'm afraid of failing. But Johnny Carson convinced me.
If you're interested in doing the same, you can call the American Lung Association at 312-243-2000.
jskass@tribune.com
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
You know what all these people had in common? They didn't worry about every little thing, and they had, or are having, fun with their lives. They go to work, they spend time with the family, they take vacations when time and funds permit, and when the grim reaper finally comes for them, they will be able to say that they LIVED.
Regards,
As a foolish lifetime smoker, you were getting on my nerves reading this thread.I was feeling singled out by you for sarcastic abuse.Then I looked up your posting history.I'm ok now.
You bet they do. Radiation comes from the contaminated phosphate fertilizer.
but it isn't any worse than what you would find on that apple, lettuce, cabbage etc. So, what's the diff. if you eat it or smoke it?
The difference is that when you eat it, much is flushed through your system while smoking draws it deep into the lungs where radiation particles can become trapped and produce damage or cancer.
No, I would rather check with the respective authoritative organizations.
Yeah, they're really keeping you updated. Who do you suppose is advising the newspapers, asthma pranksters?
FWIW asthma has been in the news recently (10 yrs or so) as having skyrocked in the late Victorian, when cleanliness IN HOMES AND IN HOUSEKEEPING became widly practiced (hence the 'disease of cleanliness').
City kids now get it more than their country counterparts. The latest research, IIRC zeroed in on or was suspicious of the cockroaches found in abundance in the urban areas. Don't recall any thing after that.
I started smoking at 12-years-old and continued to smoke for 27 years. I have not had a cigarette since Oct 23, 1999, 9:00 p.m.
On Oct 27, 1999, I had a triple bypass -- I was 39. Of course this was not my first heart attack; I had my first at 36. Sometimes God has to hit me over the head with a 2x4 before I listen;-)
Ruby
I don't believe I had posted to you before this.
You had those dreams too?!? I thought I was just crazy!
(Well, I may be crazy, but...)
That is EXACTLY what I did - 36 days ago. I was planning on quitting for New Years', but on December 19th I finished the last pack I had and decided that was enough. I recommend it also - gets rid of the pre-quitting jitters.
In Oct/Nov 1999 I met a lady and dated a couple of times before finding out she had had a bypass. It was another couple of dates before I found out she still smoked.
I smoked my first and last cigarette on August 18th, 1968. It was a couple of days before my birthday my second year of high school. I hated the experience and got sick from a Marlboro. One of the original Marlboro men was my neighbor...last name of Steele (a real cowboy and died of throat cancer).
Um.. He was 79, and nobody lives forever.
If you are serious, I wish you well. If you want to quit, you can. But you need to consider yourself a Non-Smoker from now on, and you will be all right.
Ah, yes, the ravages of tobacco use killed off poor Johnny at the tender young age of...79. :P
Also, a new report is out. The mortality rate for smokers and non-smokers is the same: 100%.
I don't smoke, but if someone chooses to that is their perogative, not for me to say. Most smokers are around 70 or so when they die, which is close to average lifespan. Would they have gotten a few more years, and if so, what would the quality of life have been. We can't say.
We all die, nothing will make us live forever, at least not yet.
Contaminated phosfate fertilizer?
What farmer, or fertilizer company would sell that? and how would it get contaminated with radioactive material in the first place?
Me thinks you haven't a clue what you are talking about.
have yo any idea how this stuff is made sold applied etc? I do.
For anyone who wishes to quit check out www.whyquit.com It's a world class smoking cessation site that educates, not dictates.
Plus Wild turkey, radioactive phosphate fertilizer?
LMAO maybe terrorists might be interested in it to make a 'dirty bomb" LMAO
Somehow, I got the idea that Johnny had quit while still working!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.