This entry is not about teaching, it's about smoking. Let me start by saying I'm not a cigarette smoker. I have smoked some cigarettes in my shady past, but I always thought it was gross. I hated the way it made my fingers and clothes smell, and the WORST part was the taste in my mouth the next morning. So, I am aware that I am no friend to the cigarette. My biggest beef is the litter. Why have so many smokers decided that cigarette butts are acceptable litter? Next time you're out on a stroll, notice all the butts, and the cigarettes too. (I couldn't resist.) Anyway, I constantly see smokers tossing their cigs on the ground. Many times it's a hand out the window of a car to drop the remains to the pavement, or someone on a leisurely stroll around the lake with apparently no place else to drop their rubbish, but good ol' planet Earth.
And what's the deal with smokers that hold their cig out the window while they drive? What that tells me is that they can't even stand the smell in their own car! Instead the smoke wafts back and in through my open window or vent. Then, when they've sufficiently poisoned both of our lungs, they toss the butt outside. Again, probably because they don't even want the smell in their car's trash.
ick! ick! ick!
When you travel out of California you realize what babies we have become about smoking. In other states, people are still smoking in restaurants. I love the ridiculousness of the restaurant hostess/host's question, "Smoking or Non-Smoking?". As if the air will maintain an imaginary border and the smoker's air will respectfully stay clear of the non-smoker's air. Bars are another place where I know I'm a spoiled Californian. I actually do still remember the days of going out to clubs and, upon returning home, hanging my clothes up overnight to air out because they reeked of cigarette smoke.
I'm also such a spoiled, cranky baby about it that I can smell smoke a mile away! I get irritated when someone is walking down the street smoking in front of me. In line or in a crowd is another smoker's paradise that irks me.
The good news is, I'm not alone. As I was searching online for an image to go with this blog, I discovered there are tons of people with blogs and campaigns against cigarette litter. The beaches seem to be a big focus of many of these campaigns. My favorite campaign ad states, "Enough with all the butts on the beach.", and has a great photo to go with it. It's put together by an eco-organization SEWS (surfers against sewage) in Britain. Gotta love those Brits. I almost posted the picture for this blog, but was worried what Jacob, Josh, and Jessica might think!
Then I also found a site where someone is working for a Responsible Smokers Act and is advocating for more public ashtrays. That way we can at least encourage the litter bugs to dispose of the remains responsibly.
I hope I haven't offended my smoker friends. YOU have always been respectful of non-smokers and you put your butts in the garbage. (My good bud in Palm Springs goes above and beyond to respect my lungs when I'm with her, and she NEVER drops her butts on the ground.) I love you all, cigs or no cigs. And I hope, after this official tirade on trash, you still love me.
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