On 9/15/2015 5:21 PM, taxed and spent wrote:
"Don Y" wrote in message
...
On 9/15/2015 2:29 PM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 2:51:59 PM UTC-5, Don Y wrote:

(sigh) If that's what "retirement" is, count me out! :-/ I can't
imagine people spending a lifetime *working* -- doing something largely
because they HAVE TO -- and *not* coming up with a rich bucket list to
look forward to in their retirement (when, hopefully, you have the time,
health *and* re$ource$ to do so)!

Several years ago I was still working full time running service calls and
working on installations. My friend GB who was 71 at the time and still
working, died in his sleep as we were finishing up a job. Me and my
brother
were at the jobsite when we found out that our friend had passed away the
night before. GB was a 71 year old juvenile delinquent who'd lost a lung
to
cancer but he couldn't put the cigarettes down. He hid them from me and
my
brother because he knew we'd chew him out for it. He hid his smoking from
his wife, his daughters and his sisters because they'd go after him worse
than us guys would. It killed him in the end and if he'd just thrown the
damn cigarettes away, he'd be alive today. I'm still angry about it. 8-(

His choice to smoke -- or not -- is his decision; he's answerable to
himself
and to his immediate family (to a lesser extent). I don't believe anyone
has
the right to impose their own sense of morality on another. People do
stupid things throughout their lives. I guess I want the right to do the
things that *I* want to do that *you* might consider "stupid". And, I'm
willing to trade my ability to impose my notions on *your* "stupidity" in
order to gain that right!

I am more concerned about those who "just got screwed" for no (apparent)
reason (i.e., weren't smokers, skydivers, having unprotected sex, drug
users, etc.). I've watched two folks die of ALS in recent years; another
of esophageal Ca; AFAICT, none did anything to "deserve" these maladies.

Watching someone smoke themselves to death is, to me, a big shrug.

As stupid as smoking seems to me, I agree. Obviously there are benefits to
smoking - it calms, energizes, suppresses appetite. Maybe more. And who is
anyone to say a informed adult cannot make the choice to add some enjoyment
to his good years at the expense of reducing the number of his bad years?

Helps the finances of the Social Security and Medicare programs, too.



My parents second hand smoke causes me numerous illnesses, including,
asthma and hearing loss. I asked them many times to stop smoking, but
they'd just say it was their "damn life". It wasn't just their life.
Then ended up killing themselves due to smoking, but they also inflicted
disease and health problems onto me.

There should be laws against smoking around children.

--
Maggie