Posted on 03/18/2002 11:05:04 AM PST by Just another Joe
Norm LeBrun remembers the days when he could light up at his work station. Then came the new rule: no smoking anywhere but the smoking room.
That lasted for several years. Then the tiny room became too expensive to ventilate. Lebrun and anyone else who couldn’t go eight hours without a cigarette were forced out back.
Ever since, they have gathered here in the middle of a windy alley in downtown Lewiston.
Two, three, four times a day, no matter what the weather, they leave their offices and desks at a local financial-service company to satisfy their cravings for nicotine.
It happens every several feet in the alleyways behind Lisbon Street. Smokers come and go, huddling around ashtrays and buckets filled with sand.
Most of them don’t want their names used and they are reluctant to have their pictures taken. They insist that they are not ashamed of their addiction. But some admit that their spouses, children and parents don’t know about their habit or still believe they’ve quit.
Many have bosses who don’t mind their short absences. They get a certain amount of time each day, and they can split it up any way they like. One woman takes two 10-minute breaks, usually at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Her co-worker, a 27-year-old man who has been smoking since his early teens, takes his allotted 20 minutes in four five-minute intervals. That is what his habit – one and a half packs a day – requires.
Some don’t mind being pushed outside to smoke. “It gives me a chance to get outdoors in the fresh air,” says a 42-year-old telemarketer named Bill.
Others hate it. They are tired of being told when and where they can smoke. They’ve been banned from malls, restaurants, even their own homes. And they don’t think it is fair.
“I think there should be restaurants for nonsmokers and restaurants for smokers,” insists LeBrun.
A block away, Bill takes a drag, thinks for a second, and says, “They should make it illegal if it is that bad for you. Until then, they should just let us smoke.”
Despite the frustrations that come along with being part of a shrinking minority, local smokers say there is camaraderie in the dark, cold alleyways. People who work for maintenance get to meet people in the data-processing department. Salesmen chat with social workers.
They complain about work. They share weekend plans and vacation memories.
For 21-year-old Melissa Bolduc, who is too young to recall the days when smoking at work was as normal as drinking coffee, having 15 minutes a day to escape her cubicle at a local bank seems perfectly reasonable.
But she could do without the lectures that come when she returns.
Very true, but most people are retired by then, so the companies do not care. By the same token, companies love hiring gays because they have no expenses for children, family ties, etc. This attitude suddenly changes in the mid to late 40's when gays begin contacting AIDS in high numbers and are no longer useful.
She could try what I did when a stranger came up to me, burning one outside the buiding, and told me I shouldn't smoke:
"My grandfather lived to be 100 years old," I replied.
"Did he smoke?"
"No, he just minded his own damn business."
Kinda threw him off.
Very true, but most people are retired by then, so the companies do not care. By the same token, companies love hiring gays because they have no expenses for children, family ties, etc. This attitude suddenly changes in the mid to late 40's when gays begin contacting AIDS in high numbers and are no longer useful.
That being said, I've often thought that having a "smoking section" in a restaurant is like having a "peeing section" in a public swimming pool.
Still, if someone wanted to start a "smoking only" restaurant and clearly advertised that fact, I don't think the nico-nazis should go ballistic. Some of the world's heaviest smokers are in Germany, precisely because of the legacy that Hitler was such a nico-nazi, among his other faults.
Pardon my French, but, NFS.
Believe it or not,authoritarians stink! I can smell you from here.
MYOB; live long and prosper.
That's pretty much all we are asking.
The state/federal/county/municiple govts don't seem to want to allow that.
Its getting easier & easier to do. ****smile******
You're right there. I don't know that I would smile just yet though. I might want to wait and see if they DO come after one of my likes next.
Some people just need a "crutch" that helps their willpower kick into high gear.
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