Did I Just Win $54,443?
by Isidra Person Lynn
I asked the young Asian USC student behind me in line how much a pack of cigarettes were these days. He had Newports, my former brand that I quit when the kids rolled in some 27 years ago.
He had been tapping the turquoise box,tugging at the cellophane. As I packed my groceries, he fished out his receipt and said "I'll tell you exactly: $5.99."
In horror, I shrieked "For one pack? They were $.36 a pack when I was your age in Virginia!" His eyes bugged. We made more small talk about cartons being like over $40 bucks. When he left , I was still packing my groceries in shock when the next customer, an older black woman, pushed her cart close and motioned for me to come near.
I could barely make out her words, but she said in the most gravilly voice lower than a whisper: "I wish I could have let him hear me talk". Her voice came from a hole in her neck she pointed to. You've seen the kind on that anti smoking commercial, right?
The woman went on to say she was 75. She was still robust, still beautiful. I said "Well, he may not think it pertains to him, you know how the young are." She managed to eek out "Well, he should. I have been like this since I was 40."
Wow. Now, what are the odds the very next person I would speak to would be her--a survivor of such a life-changing cancer??
Yes, I felt as if I had just won the lottery because if I had continued smoking for the last 27 years, I would have spent roughly $54,443 dollars and who knows how many doctors visits. I thought I would die with a cigarette in my hand, but as I take this deep breath in, it feels so good to exhale.
How did I do it? The month before New Years one year (No, I really don't remember which) I smoked on purpose like a chimney, so much so I was just tired of it--even sick of it. I told myself that on New Year's Eve I would cut up whatever cigarettes I had on hand, flush them down the commode and when the New Year came that would be it. And it was.
by Isidra Person Lynn
I asked the young Asian USC student behind me in line how much a pack of cigarettes were these days. He had Newports, my former brand that I quit when the kids rolled in some 27 years ago.
He had been tapping the turquoise box,tugging at the cellophane. As I packed my groceries, he fished out his receipt and said "I'll tell you exactly: $5.99."
In horror, I shrieked "For one pack? They were $.36 a pack when I was your age in Virginia!" His eyes bugged. We made more small talk about cartons being like over $40 bucks. When he left , I was still packing my groceries in shock when the next customer, an older black woman, pushed her cart close and motioned for me to come near.
I could barely make out her words, but she said in the most gravilly voice lower than a whisper: "I wish I could have let him hear me talk". Her voice came from a hole in her neck she pointed to. You've seen the kind on that anti smoking commercial, right?
The woman went on to say she was 75. She was still robust, still beautiful. I said "Well, he may not think it pertains to him, you know how the young are." She managed to eek out "Well, he should. I have been like this since I was 40."
Wow. Now, what are the odds the very next person I would speak to would be her--a survivor of such a life-changing cancer??
Yes, I felt as if I had just won the lottery because if I had continued smoking for the last 27 years, I would have spent roughly $54,443 dollars and who knows how many doctors visits. I thought I would die with a cigarette in my hand, but as I take this deep breath in, it feels so good to exhale.
How did I do it? The month before New Years one year (No, I really don't remember which) I smoked on purpose like a chimney, so much so I was just tired of it--even sick of it. I told myself that on New Year's Eve I would cut up whatever cigarettes I had on hand, flush them down the commode and when the New Year came that would be it. And it was.