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Friday, July 25, 2008

Light 'Em Up

Hookah
Photo by myself, outside a bar, on 10th Street in the East Village.

A sidewalk blackboard advertises recreation within.

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Happy weekend, everyone!

I'm never used a hookah, though the flavors are tempting: peach, mango, watermelon, apple, blueberry...each mixed with tobacco.

As a reformed smoker, I won't go near the stuff.

There are many ways to quit smoking. I quit my pack-a-day habit cold turkey, after the drug store cashier who sold me Marlboro Lights automatically handed me a pack without my asking. It's hard to believe I used to buy them sometimes by the carton.

In New York, smokers huddle outside tall buildings, taking their breaks. The hard core smokers light up in the mornings between the subway and the office, huffing and shuffling down the sidewalk.

Once a smoker, always a smoker. It's all too easy to stumble down that slippery slope.

Related posts: The Rules and Lost In Translation.

12 comments:

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

Er, why would you mix a drink with tobacco? It sounded appealing until you mentioned that.
Best not to go near it since you're a reformed smoker - you've made the right choice I think.
Ciao

Scarlet

Olivier said...

la même chose pour moi, mais sans le tabac.
Bon Weekend

the same thing for me, but without tobacco.
Good Weekend

Anonymous said...

No thanks.

Have a nice weekend,

Abraham Lincoln
—Brookville Daily Photo

Kizz said...

Yay for quitting! And going cold turkey, yikes! You're a strong one, Kitty.

Kitty said...

Hi Scarlet!
well, they mix a flavor with the tobacco. I've actually never had a taste, so I'm not sure what it's about.

Have a lovely weekend Olivier!

Good seeing you Mr Lincoln!

Hi Kizz
Yeah, it's a nasty habit. Glad we're all most conscious of it.

BrianC said...

I love the crowds of nurses and doctors smoking outside the hospitals. It's especially startling when you see them outside Memorial Sloan-Kettering. I'm sorry, but if your job entails treating cancer patients, wouldn't you have a pretty good sense of what smoking can do? I smoked in grad school and quit cold turkey after only 5 years on the habit. (And I remember feeling bad at the time that cigarettes were $1 a pack. How can anyone afford it now?)

Catz said...

Yep! I am a reformed smoker and I won't go near it as I know how easy it would be to slide right back into a pack a day!

Ken Mac said...

I don't get this hookah thing, but nice pic.

Fredrik said...

Nice drawing! But I'm not that tempted to try.

Mom Knows Everything said...

When I looked at the picture I thought it was something other then tobacco that they were smoking with it. LOL

Anonymous said...

Actually, I've never had a cigarette! Always seemed like the kind of thing that would be too easy to get addicted to.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Thw only time I tried this was in Montpelleier, France. It's so surreal, tabac with a blueberry taste. Now a reformed non smoker, I would stick to the drink only.

I see my fav. jamjar has beat me to commmenting.