I woke in a panic during the night. A nightmare regarding my Grandpa Stewart. He died at the age of 76 back in 1983. A good long life. Still, he came from a line of men that are long-lived. His father and grandfather both lived into their mid eighties. The way I figure it, Grandpa got robbed of about 10 years of life. And I got robbed of 10 years of his wisdom, stories and nonsense.

Why?

Well, Grandpa was a big roll-your-own guy. He taught me how to handle cigarette paper and a can of Sir Walther Raleigh. Before that he was a Camel man and smoked unfiltered cigarettes for several decades. But, by his own admission, those smokes where nasty and hard on him. Grandpa was a cigarette adict. Even his father didn't get hooked to the same extent. And Grandpa never allowed my Dad to smoke. No way!

I can't say for sure that cigarettes shortened my Grandpa's life. But I remember many nights when I listened to him coughing until dawn. And I'm convinced that the root of the problem was the smokes.

So, I don't dislike people who light up. But I hate what cigarettes do the the people we love..........
8:37:16 PM    comment []