Drive-Bys

I'll be spending New Year's Eve at the Omnibus Depot, as I really don't enjoy being out with the crazies without a designated driver and the promise of great company.

I'll also be missing the whisking away of ashtrays on the stroke of twelve tonight. Of course, this doesn't mean one has to quit. I'll be okay, as I'm ready, once more, to quit, and I think it will be easier to quit since there are less places to cheat.

I'm afraid that the state of Illinois is handling this one very badly, however. They charge more for cigarettes, give you less and less places to smoke, and then give you zero in the way of support for resources for quitting.

In fact, I sat next to an older gentleman last night who repeatedly asked, "What am I going to do? I gave up drinking. I can't give up smoking. I don't want to quit smoking. But all my friends go to places where there's going to be no smoking. What am I going to do? Sit alone in front of the television for 24 hours a day? I've been smoking for 40 years..." and on and on it went. This is a guy who thought it was a real accomplishment that he could go for more than an hour without a cigarette.

He broke my heart when he told me he was seriously contemplating suicide, rather than having to choose between smoking and his social life.

(Put that in your pipe and choke on it, all of you smug and self-righteous non-smokers who think it's so damned easy to quit.)

While you're out and about in Illinois tonight after midnight... and any time after that for at least the the next few months... be careful out there. I predict there's going to be more than just the usual level of road rage for quite some time.

Say a prayer for those folks who are about to have their lives turned upside down for a while, will you?

Suicide. Sheesh.
_____

This doesn't smack of entrapment, it is entrapment. What'll they do next to lure in the perverts? Have little girls sunbathe topless in the park?

(A tip of the cap to my BlogDaddy.)
_____

This is sick and senseless. Rotten little bastards.
_____

Wow! I hope they can eventually release these recordings on CD!
_____