Smoking

I went on a hard core drinking and smoking binge, and it lasted right about nine months. And then, as soon as I was born, I was like, 'Whew! Do not go in there.'

I used to smoke. A lot. Many people did. Cigarettes were everywhere  Even Mary Tyler Moore smoked on their show. So did Lucy, if I'm not mistaken. Johnny Carson and all of his guests did it. It was in style; the thing to do. 

Before I did comedy, I was a trainer for a huge corporation. We actually smoke in the classrooms. It was insane? What were we thinking? We weren't  We didn't think about the consequences of putting smoke in our lungs, even though most fire fatalities are due to smoke inhalation  I guess we thought that in small doses, it would be OK.. Ridiculous, and yet, there was I doing the exact same thing as everyone else.

It was Hollywood, for crying out loud. You did what others did. except drugs  I did't do that, as I mentioned in an earlier blog. l used to smoke three packs a day. Two of them while outside a club, nervous as a fool can be. I lived on coffee and cigarettes. If you've never done stand up, you may not understand. Many nervous people ground it realizing. We had no idea what a calming and dangerous drug nicotine is. Turns out that cigarettes were just the vehicle for getting the nicotine into to our body. The addict's syringe Nicotine is a very powerful drug.

.In low doses, an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine, Nicotine acts as a stimulant in people, while larger amounts can be fatal. Sounds great, doesn't it? I was as guilty as anyone else. I was sucked in, I smoked more than a three alarm fire, 

I started smoking in the Air Force. It didn't take me long to understand that smokers got breaks and we didn't. Done. I bought some and never looked back.I had smaii clues. One day, while on the set of Kung Fu, it was a very smoggy day in Los Angeles. I lkit up and the next thing I knew, someone was waking me up. Stupid. It didn't deter me one bit.

I tried so many ways to quit. Nothing seemed to work. Then one day, my little boy grabbed my pack, crushed them and threw them away. At first, I was really mad. then I asked him why. His response? Simple. I want you to live, Dad. Wow. I've never smoked since, nor had the desire to do so. So simple.

I witnessed my father die a hirrid death from emphasima, from smoking. before he fell into a coma before he passed, his smoke stained hand still held the nicotine injectors, Talk about hard core.

before I end this blog today, pleaqse unerstand that i dony judge those who choose to smoke. It's not my place. Maybe you'll quit, maybe you won:t. It's not my business.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some coffee. Caffeine can't be bad for you, can it?

See you tomorrow.