Up In Smoke

Is there like a smoker’s karma or something?  That something horrifically terrible will happen to you if you don’t succumb to a request from a fellow smoker who was bumming a stick from you?  I’ve often wondered about this.

I used to be a smoker but I quit back in the late 90s.  I remember always having a pack on me; I never had to bum a cig from anyone.  Okay, that’s a lie — I did bum cigs from my friends (to whom I would reciprocate), but never from total strangers.  Hmm, come to think of it, I actually don’t recall having total strangers bumming cigs from me back then either.  Anyway, I wonder what will happen if a smoker purposefully denied a cig-bummer.  Will their lighter suddenly run out of fluid, and they then have to bum a lighter from somebody?  Will their cigarette inadvertently explode in their face?

This afternoon while at a bus stop, I witnessed a woman asking a guy who was smoking for a cigarette.  When the guy handed her one, she said, “Do you have another for my friend here?”  The guy was visibly annoyed but handed another stick for the woman’s friend.  I shook my head, thinking: “If you don’t have money to support the habit, try to kick it.”  Of course, that woman may be trying to kick the habit, which is why she didn’t have any cigs on her.  But, it sort of defeats the purpose if you can bum a stick from a fellow smoker anyway.

I’m so glad I quit smoking dedaces ago.  For starters, I don’t think I’ll be able to condition myself for running if I was a smoker.  Oh, and I would like to live a long life.