I remember when I was bout 20 years old, and just beginning work as a Nursing Aide in a Geriatric home. I worked the evening shift, and would leave a little bit early so I could stop along the way. I would grab a book, a five dollar bill, and a loonie. Along my way to work, I stopped at the local convenience store, pick up a pack of cigarettes ($4.98) and head over to Tim Horton’s for a cup of coffee ($1.02) and a good read.
Later in life, I became well known in a local diner for me and my friends arriving and staying for hours debating the political and scientific issues of the day. Through it all, we would have a cigarette burning in our hand. The cigarette made a great pointer during animated discussions. To this day, I still feel the urge to hold a cigarette while having an animated discussion.
It’s been a long time since the days of $5 packs, and the changes to the cost of cigarettes have changed my style of smoking. Now, rather than having a quick and animated cigarette, I take my time, slowly filling and smoking my pipe, with finer tobaccos and often in quiet contemplation.
I am hoping to grow my own tobacco in the next year or so. The seeds are on the way, but that is still a future project.
