Well - I started with cheap cigars back on college (late 60s) cause they were just that- cheap! But over the years the one thing that I learned was that better cigars -and I mean that not all “better “cigars are good but the majority are! And after all life is short as they say…But these days I generally don’t get in my canoe without having one cued up and at the ready! I will say that I have gotten good at fishing also with one in my mouth though having a third hand at times would be helpful. And yes I know I should not smoke them but it’s not that often that I do and every doc I see says the same thing but WTF- at 72 I should have some fun- sorry heart doctor…
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Happy Let's Hug Day! 🫂
Poll: Tobacco & nicotine, and canoe stories about use
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
- Start date
Many paddling get-togethers are day trips, so smoking, drinking or drugging are probably not intolerable issues. However, I agree they can be very big issues on extended overnight trips. I think it's a very good idea for a trip leader/organizer to clearly specify and screen acceptable behaviors for participants, especially for trips that will attract participants who are strangers or otherwise unknown.
I've been on both sides of the smoking/drinking divide in my life (I've never drugged), and I've definitely been uncomfortable on both sides when the group included both heavy partakers and abstainers.
Tobacco is best used on canoe trips as a traditional offering.
When I first found out I was diabetic my reaction was, just don't let me go blind. Now, smoking is a wonderful thing. Around a campfire, when warming hands after releasing a steelhead, etc. I loved cigarettes.
Then at an eye Dr. appointment I was told I have one spoke of a cataract. Dr. states this is unusual for a person my age who doesn't smoke, but fair game for a smoker. I asked it the spoke would go away if I stopped smoking (no) but I could avoid getting more if I stopped. So, with a big fishing trip 2 months away, where I knew I would smoke, ever time I took a drag on a cig I reminded myself I was one step closer to going blind. Kept doing this till the trip and when I retuned I went in the back yard, smoked three cigs and strapped a patch on. Have not had one since 11/1/06.
Then at an eye Dr. appointment I was told I have one spoke of a cataract. Dr. states this is unusual for a person my age who doesn't smoke, but fair game for a smoker. I asked it the spoke would go away if I stopped smoking (no) but I could avoid getting more if I stopped. So, with a big fishing trip 2 months away, where I knew I would smoke, ever time I took a drag on a cig I reminded myself I was one step closer to going blind. Kept doing this till the trip and when I retuned I went in the back yard, smoked three cigs and strapped a patch on. Have not had one since 11/1/06.
Why anyone as a youth (or otherwise) would ever begin to smoke has always escaped me. Wha a horrible thing to to to your body and your life. i could never stand to be around anyone who was smoking. No one who I consider a friend and I associate with is a smoker. I remeber when in the military, at times when I had to be in a briefing room there were ash trays on the back of every seat, and they were being used all around me. That went on the list of one reason of why I left the military when I did.
The same is true of unnecessary or illegal drug use. Certainly when in college the dorms reeked of the stuff, but I was never tempted and never "experimented" in any way, not even once in my life. And I am proud of that fact.
The same is true of unnecessary or illegal drug use. Certainly when in college the dorms reeked of the stuff, but I was never tempted and never "experimented" in any way, not even once in my life. And I am proud of that fact.
I smoked until I couldn't smoke, dipped until I couldn't dip, and still miss Copenhagen when I get agitated. But I'm years clear of anything more addictive than cinnamon toothpicks.
I remember doing a 300-or-so mile stretch of the AT and having to get off every few days, pay for a shuttle, get into town and buy tobacco. I'm glad I don't have to do that any more.
But the topic reminded me of one of my favorite writers, Algernon Blackwood, who wrote sort of "eco-horror" tales of the woods and forests. (Can you imagine a better name for a writer of the macabre?) His stories, especially "The Willows" and "The Wendigo", feature canoes and smoking and are a pleasure to read or listen to.
I remember doing a 300-or-so mile stretch of the AT and having to get off every few days, pay for a shuttle, get into town and buy tobacco. I'm glad I don't have to do that any more.
But the topic reminded me of one of my favorite writers, Algernon Blackwood, who wrote sort of "eco-horror" tales of the woods and forests. (Can you imagine a better name for a writer of the macabre?) His stories, especially "The Willows" and "The Wendigo", feature canoes and smoking and are a pleasure to read or listen to.
I took two puffs on a cigarette when I was 14 years old.
After promptly gagging, I was told that “you have to get used to it”! I figured anything you HAVE to get used to is not worth doing.
I’ve never tolerated cigarette smoke, especially as a child at smoke infested family gatherings.
I watched both my beloved mother in law and my dear father in law, commit a long slow suicide by smoking. Both of their deaths were attributable directly to the long term effects of smoking.
On any canoe trip, if others want to smoke, fine…but please do so downwind from me.
In todays day and age, I can’t fathom why anyone would start that suicidal trip.
After promptly gagging, I was told that “you have to get used to it”! I figured anything you HAVE to get used to is not worth doing.
I’ve never tolerated cigarette smoke, especially as a child at smoke infested family gatherings.
I watched both my beloved mother in law and my dear father in law, commit a long slow suicide by smoking. Both of their deaths were attributable directly to the long term effects of smoking.
On any canoe trip, if others want to smoke, fine…but please do so downwind from me.
In todays day and age, I can’t fathom why anyone would start that suicidal trip.
I've had a life-long aversion to suits, office jobs, and cocktail parties for exactly this reason!
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