It was a cool winter morning, as I along with the Ford’s dog, ventured out into the front yard. It is pre-sunrise, the sky is a dark gray, the street light at the corner is still on, and there are dark black shadows all around the neighborhood.
As I step out on the front porch, the motion detector turned on the porch light behind me. If I was in a military setting I would have been an easy target. I stood there waiting for the dog to get the paper, but he was more interested in smelling of everything around the yard. He may be part blood hound, he seems to be able to track anything anywhere.
Since he was ignoring the paper I began to walk toward it, assuming I might need to get it myself. As usual, he saw me walking that way, so he ran to the paper and picked it up.
I stood there for a moment looking around the neighborhood. The people who live a couple houses up the street are always out in their garage or standing in the yard every morning. This couple has two kids. This couple also smokes and I assume they have an agreement to not smoke inside the home. Since they both smoke, is that a good example for their kids?
As I looked toward the lighted garage I noticed a small red light in a very dark area next to the garage. That small red light went from dull red, to bright red, and then back to dull red, finally it was out of sight. I knew there was someone standing in the dark, smoking.
In military training, soldiers are taught when in a war setting, to never smoke out in the open at night. In the dark, when a person sucks on a cigarette (I use the term sucks as I do not want anyone to think smoking is fun or ok, it isn’t) the tip lights up giving the enemy a location to shoot at. When the person up the street sucked on their cigarette, I saw the glow from the tip, it brought back military training.
In the olden days, when I was in training, the government provided soldiers cigarettes. If you were given a food ration (eating from a box) there would be a small pack of four cigarettes in the box with the food. Those of us who didn’t smoke, gave them to the guys who did.
Smoke not and you will be better off!
Senior nonsmoker; Don Ford
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