What Are You Reading

[LizzieMaine]

What a great book that is. I was off sausage for years after reading it.

 

[Fading Fast]

What a great book that is. I was off sausage for years after reading it.

To this day, I still have that book echoing in my mind sometimes when I eat meat. And sometimes, irrationally, I pass on it for that reason. Then I tell myself, how many people do I know who have died from eating tainted meat - none, but the imagery is hard to get out of your head.

 

[Fading Fast]

"Smoke Over America," by Dr. Jesse Mercer Gehman. You'll often hear the argument "well, people smoked so much in the Era because they didn't know the harm it caused." Well, here's, you'll pardon the expression, the smoking gun that blows that argument away for good. Gehman, a naturopathic physician, in this 1943 book, here documents Era-vintage medical study after medical study linking tobacco use with shortened lifespans and a host of other ailments.

Why didn't people listen? Gehman also thoroughly documents how the corporate-controlled media, under the influence of its National Association of Manufacturers masters, went to great lengths to suppress these studies, out of fear of losing all those billions of tobacco-advertising dollars. And he also documents how the industry shamelessly bribed the U. S. military during both world wars to ensure a constant flow of new tobacco addicts. The medical establishment, under the ever-corruptible AMA, was also deeply culpable in the suppression of these facts.

It would be another twenty years before the evidence became too obvious and too conclusive to suppress any longer, but for those who were willing to dig, the information was all gathered together in Gehman's book, long before the Surgeon General's Report.

What's amazing is that even now, when we know the story, when we have commercials on TV that should scare the bejesus out of anyone smoking or considering smoking (have you seen some of the ones in the last few years - my God, I can't watch them) - there are people who continue smoking and others who start. I agree completely with Lizzie's post (let me emphasize that), but I'd also argue that no matter what society, the government, the corporations, the Boys in Marketing do or say, some subset of the population will drink to excess, smoke, take drugs, cheat, lie, steal, go into outsized debt, etc., etc.

 

[AmateisGal]

What's amazing is that even now, when we know the story, when we have commercials on TV that should scare the bejesus out of anyone smoking or considering smoking (have you seen some of the ones in the last few years - my God, I can't watch them) - there are people who continue smoking and others who start. I agree completely with Lizzie's post (let me emphasize that), but I'd also argue that no matter what society, the government, the corporations, the Boys in Marketing do or say, some subset of the population will drink to excess, smoke, take drugs, cheat, lie, steal, go into outsized debt, etc., etc.

My husband smokes - and he has tried time and time again to quit. He tried Wellabutrin and the Nicotine patch and other things and it would work for awhile, but then he'd get really stressed out and start up again. Bottom line? He likes it and it calms him down. Which is totally bizarre to me. He's never smoked in the house (no way would I allow it).

My grandfather died of emphysema - horrible way to go. He didn't even have the strength or air to eat most of the time. Completely cured me from ever even trying a cigarette.

What's odd, though, is that my two stepsons, who grew up watching their dad smoke, were always really concerned about him, and received a steady diety of "smoking is bad and here's why" in the public education system, both smoke now (they're 20 and 21, so I can't do much about it!). I just don't get it.

It makes you wonder...

 

[jamespowers]

My husband smokes - and he has tried time and time again to quit. He tried Wellabutrin and the Nicotine patch and other things and it would work for awhile, but then he'd get really stressed out and start up again. Bottom line? He likes it and it calms him down. Which is totally bizarre to me. He's never smoked in the house (no way would I allow it).

My grandfather died of emphysema - horrible way to go. He didn't even have the strength or air to eat most of the time. Completely cured me from ever even trying a cigarette.

What's odd, though, is that my two stepsons, who grew up watching their dad smoke, were always really concerned about him, and received a steady diety of "smoking is bad and here's why" in the public education system, both smoke now (they're 20 and 21, so I can't do much about it!). I just don't get it.

It makes you wonder...

The more you try to stigmatize something the more appealing it becomes.

 

[2jakes]

My husband smokes - and he has tried time and time again to quit. He tried Wellabutrin and the Nicotine patch and other things and it would work for awhile, but then he'd get really stressed out and start up again. Bottom line? He likes it and it calms him down. Which is totally bizarre to me. He's never smoked in the house (no way would I allow it).

My grandfather died of emphysema - horrible way to go. He didn't even have the strength or air to eat most of the time. Completely cured me from ever even trying a cigarette.

What's odd, though, is that my two stepsons, who grew up watching their dad smoke, were always really concerned about him, and received a steady diety of "smoking is bad and here's why" in the public education system, both smoke now (they're 20 and 21, so I can't do much about it!). I just don't get it.

It makes you wonder...

I started smoking when I joined the military. Cigarettes were cheap & everyone smoked.
At first I got sick but eventually I would smoked a pack a day.
I knew it was harmful but I didn't care.

But then I made a promise to someone that I cared for very much that I would quit.

It wasn't easy, but I did quit.

Now the smell of smoke makes me want to uke:

Ask your husband to make a commitment to you & make a promise to quit.
Why ? Because if he loves you he would want to spend as much time with you
in this life.

(just my 2¢)

 

[Fading Fast]

2jakes, I hope your advice helps Amateis' husband, but your story is wonderful by itself. Your wife is lucky, and I'm just guessing, but I bet you are too.

 

[AmateisGal]

I started smoking when I joined the military. Cigarettes were cheap & everyone smoked.
At first I got sick but eventually I would smoked a pack a day.
I knew it was harmful but I didn't care.

But then I made a promise to someone that I cared for very much that I would quit.

It wasn't easy, but I did quit.

Now the smell of smoke makes me want to uke:

Ask your husband to make a commitment to you & make a promise to quit.
Why ? Because if he loves you he would want to spend as much time with you
in this life.

(just my 2¢)

I've done that. I've used guilt tactics and all the rest. He'll promise to quit, does well for awhile, and then BAM. Something happens and he's right back to it. It's beyond frustrating.

But I also realize that he has PTSD (he's a veteran from the First Gulf War) and that he uses it as a coping mechanism. Not a good way to cope, I know, but in the end, he has to be the one that wants to quit.

 

[Fading Fast]

...but in the end, he has to be the one that wants to quit.

Nothing exogenous impacted my Dad - he wouldn't quite until he wanted to quite and, then, it was cold turkey. Fortunately, his default setting was cranking, so there wasn't a noticeable difference in his personality when he first quit . But I will never, ever forget the first time he complained about someone smoking - it was as if the earth started rotating the other way.

 

[AmateisGal]

Nothing exogenous impacted my Dad - he wouldn't quite until he wanted to quite and, then, it was cold turkey. Fortunately, his default setting was cranking, so there wasn't a noticeable difference in his personality when he first quit . But I will never, ever forget the first time he complained about someone smoking - it was as if the earth started rotating the other way.

I can only pray (and I pray for this a lot!) that this will happen to my husband. I desperately want him to quit.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My mother quit cold turkey the day her father died of emphysema. Flushed her last carton of Kents down the toilet, one cigarette at a time, and never looked back. Nothing the Boys could ever do would ever erase the memory of watching someone she loved hacking out his last breath.

 

[2jakes]

I've done that. I've used guilt tactics and all the rest. He'll promise to quit, does well for awhile, and then BAM. Something happens and he's right back to it. It's beyond frustrating.

But I also realize that he has PTSD (he's a veteran from the First Gulf War) and that he uses it as a coping mechanism. Not a good way to cope, I know, but in the end, he has to be the one that wants to quit.

I'm a veteran from Vietnam conflict & I can relate somehow to what your husband went through. And I realize that
we all have our own way of dealing with it.

I made a promise to someone that meant everything to me. It was very difficult to keep. But I loved her more than my life.
To see the hurt look in her eyes when I broke my word was something that I could not tolerate.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I am grateful for the times that we shared which was too fleeting.
I am blessed to have had this lovely person in my life who cared for me.

But like you mentioned...
he has to be the one that wants to do it.
I hope it's not too late.
J

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm a veteran from Vietnam conflict & I can relate somehow to what your husband went through. And I realize that
we all have our own way of dealing with it.

I made a promise to someone that meant everything to me. It was very difficult to keep. But I loved her more than my life.
To see the hurt look in her eyes when I broke my word was something that I could not tolerate.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I am grateful for the times that we shared which was too fleeting.
I am blessed to have had this lovely person in my life who cared for me.

But like you mentioned...
he has to be the one that wants to do it.
I hope it's not too late.
J

Thank you. Addiction runs strong in my husband's family and I know it's going to be very hard for him to break the cycle.

 

[ChiTownScion]

My mother quit cold turkey the day her father died of emphysema. Flushed her last carton of Kents down the toilet, one cigarette at a time, and never looked back. Nothing the Boys could ever do would ever erase the memory of watching someone she loved hacking out his last breath.

Watched my mother die in such a manner, inch by inch, day, by day, over ten years. I didn't date smokers, I could have never married a smoker, and I broke up an engagement when I found out that my GF was doing it behind my back. (There were other factors, but that was the straw that broke it. )

I suppose that everyone is entitled to one area where the topic matter is taboo, a total non- negotiable and they are an intolerable and insufferable SOB whenever it comes up. This one is mine. (And don't get me started on the subject of exposing kids to second hand smoke and why I consider it a form of child abuse.)

 

[AmateisGal]

Watched my mother die in such a manner, inch by inch, day, by day, over ten years. I didn't date smokers, I could have never married a smoker, and I broke up an engagement when I found out that my GF was doing it behind my back. (There were other factors, but that was the straw that broke it. )

I suppose that everyone is entitled to one area where the topic matter is taboo, a total non- negotiable and they are an intolerable and insufferable SOB whenever it comes up. This one is mine. (And don't get me started on the subject of exposing kids to second hand smoke and why I consider it a form of child abuse.)

Totally understand. I made it very clear when we married that he would never smoke near the kids, never smoke in the house, etc. He's abided by those rules for 16 years.

 

[Benzadmiral]

. . . My grandfather died of emphysema - horrible way to go. He didn't even have the strength or air to eat most of the time. Completely cured me from ever even trying a cigarette.

What's odd, though, is that my two stepsons, who grew up watching their dad smoke, were always really concerned about him, and received a steady diety of "smoking is bad and here's why" in the public education system, both smoke now (they're 20 and 21, so I can't do much about it!). I just don't get it.

It makes you wonder...

True. The wonder is that I never picked up the habit. My mother smoked -- my father was not around as much, and he quit before I was born, I was told -- and more than a few of my boyhood fictional heroes, like James Bond and Ellery Queen, were painted as big smokers. A pack of whatever brand was always there in the kitchen drawer, and Mom would often ask me to bring her a pack if I was going to the fridge for something. I just never had the urge to try it. And my best friends growing up, and both of my wives, were non-smokers. Lucky, I guess.

 

[Benzadmiral]

The Darkest Hour by Tony Schumacher. An alternate reality story where the Germans conquered Britain during World War 2.

There's also Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle, though its alternate reality focuses more on 1960 California and the western half of the United States, where the Japanese are the rulers. The Axis won, and divvied up the U.S. along (I think) the Mississippi. There's a nice touch where someone mentions Bob Hope making jokes on the radio, and says, "He's in Canada. It's a little freer up there."

There's a short story by Keith Roberts called "Weinachtsabend" that focuses on the same idea as Schumacher's novel.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"The Ruling Clawss," a 1935 collection of satirical cartoons skewering the foibles of Our Betters, by "A. Redfield." Mr. Redfield was the editorial cartoonist of the Daily Worker in the mid-thirties, so the cartoons are not particularly subtle. But Mr. Redfield had an interesting simultaneous career as a regular cartoonist for the New Yorker under his true name of Syd Hoff - and Mr. Hoff went on to author a long list of popular children's books -- "Danny and the Dinosaur" being the most notable -- that would find their way to just about every baby boomer's childhood bookshelf.

Some of Redfield/Hoff's work is just as pointed today as it was eighty years ago. "We've Come So Far."

 

[Fading Fast]

The quality and style of the illustrations and cartoons from the '30s is fantastic. It is something we have lost (and least as a mainstream art) as photography became easier and more available.

I am not familiar with Redfiield, but he seems to echo the style of Popeye a bit. I like so many of them, but I saw a Dennis Wortman exhibit a few years back and really enjoyed it. This is one of his



And Lizzie, you and he share similar politics.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A lot of the cartoonists of the Depression era shifted smoothly between popular and fine art -- yet another in this vein was Reginald Marsh, who not only drew cartoons for the New Yorker and other publications, but was also a recognized figure in the "ashcan school" of American art --