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The Quit Continued: a Test I have contributed more than my share of cigarettes to the landscape, most of them used, but quite a few in virgin state, tossed out of frustration with a blown quit, after smoking a few. Normally when I have done this I have disposed of them properly, but there have been those other times. And normally, when those times did occur, I would scrunch up the pack so the remaining smokes would not be usable, unless I was setting up for my next slip. By chance, I found the way out of that nightmare. For the last four years, the number of used or unused butts along the roadside where I walk the dog has diminished with each rainfall, as my contributions to the collection stopped in the fall of 2004. And then, while walking the dog a while ago, I noticed something along the road. It was a box-- could it be? It was! My favorite Hump Juniors, the only brand I ever really learned to enjoy, and it hadn't been there long. I leaned over to inspect further. The box was not empty. It had about half a pack remaining, in pristine condition, with matches! I am not making this up. It's just a guess, but it seems likely that the first owner of that pack had the same feelings of frustration, and was making a first step toward a quit. Probably a reluctant first step, but maybe it will work for him or her. But what we don't realize when we initiate our quit by tossing our unused cigarettes onto the roadside is the effect it has on other quits. Nobody would have to know. We were out in the country by ourselves. Spouse was out for the day. I wouldn't even have to tell anyone here. And there was a time, during previous quits, when this would have been seen as a sign that it was time to end the quit, and maybe start again later. After all, why else would someone leave me a half pack of my favorite brand? And then I realized-- it was left there by my evil twin, Winston, whom I hadn't seen in four years. Just a little reminder that he's still around. While muttering curses to my evil twin, I tossed those cigarettes off into the marsh, where there are lots of yellow spotted salamanders and spring peepers. I don't think they'll mind. Some of you might be glad to hear that after four years, this was not so very hard to do. |