Tom_G

(Quit smoking 10/29/2000)

Tom's Ramble

Hey, everyone!! My bones are creaking....

...but it sure feels great to be an old fogey!!!
Unreal!! I seriously can't believe it's been a year already. Time sure has flown, the past couple of months especially. We are moved and settled in our new home in the Valley of the Sun. It's STILL hot here. Gonna be 90-95 today. I don't even know where any of my jackets are. I have no Internet access at work anymore, so popping in to say HI is a real challenge.

I guess this note is to all of the new faces I saw on my way to the Old Fogey Porch a few minutes ago. Very few names I recognize. John Miller, Deanna, Beverly5, Debcb, Deets, Paul...WHAZZUUUUUUP....?!

To the rest, I know there are people in every stage of a quit reading this. But, remember, nmo matter how difficult it may be, IT WILL GET BETTER!!! I smoked for 22+ years and lost a 7-month quit a few years ago to "just one." I thought it would be fun. It took me 3 years to get the guts to try again. I seriously don't think I could muster up the courage to try again if I were to slip this time.

Blairsville is very much a part of my quit, and always will be. The true support and genuine care and concern that flows aropund here is second to none. I stumbled across Blairsville in January. I was looking for some encouragement - I was looking for the benefits of quitting. I had a couple months under my belt and was still having awful cravings. Next thing I knew, I was posting stuff on here and, I kid you not, within 1 week, my cravings were virtually gone. I still had (have) small ones, but the miserable ones just disappeared. I stayed close to Blairsville until about the first of August or so when my family moved from Colorado to Phoenix. Trust me, though, this place has been with me every step of the way. I am amazed at how we were able to get through this move pretty much as planned. I am absolutely sure that it would never have happened had we continued to smoke. Smoking numbs you. Not just your nerves and emotions, but ALL of you - including your motivation and ambition. For the first time in many years I feel like there is room for me to grow, but, at the same time, I feel like a grown-up for the first time ever. It may sound weird, but it's true.

Well, if anyone has actually read to this point, Thank You. I made a special point to visit here today. There is no way I could remember to mention all the people here who helped me so much, but you know who you are. I hope that everyone here has a wonderful day, and I will try to visit from time to time. Thanks again to everyone that helped me. I have a future now and I owe much of it to you all...

Reserved for Wendy G

(Quit smoking 10/29/2000)

Reserved for TeriW

(Quit smoking 11/09/2000)

Roger E

(Quit smoking 11/14/2000)

Roger's Ramble
Well, it's November 14th, and a year ago around 8:30pm on that night, I told my wife I would do anything for her if she would try to rekindle our marriage. She barked "quit smoking". I said I would. She said I couldn't. I said I'd try. Now here it is a year later and I am also marking this day as the day the state of California has finalized our divorce. How could this be? It's a long story, but I'll try to be brief. I was married for 13 years. The first 5 years were great. The next 7 were not. I could do nothing to make this woman happy. I could not read minds, and she would not tell me why she was not happy. Later, I found out she has some problems in her past that she never dealt with. Anyway, after quitting smoking and trying like heck to be this ideal husband/father of two sons, she said to me in April of this year that she wanted out. I got the lawyer and started the proceedings. She did not want the boys, now ages 10 & 12, and that was just fine with me because she was a horrible mother and my boys do not need to be subject to her verbal abuse any longer. Yes, I was able to keep my quit going through all of this. And my sons have been a great inspiration for me to keep my quit.
It's funny how I was able to quit smoking and a marriage at the same time. I must say, for me, quitting my marriage was much more difficult than quitting smoking. It's too bad I have to remember this day for two reasons. If my ex-wife would have tried to make it work, I might still be smoking. And I don't know that either one would still have been a good thing after all those years.
Roger E

Reserved for BlairL

(Quit smoking 11/20/2000)

Blair's Ramble
Well, where do I start? How do I describe one of the hardest years of my life without sounding like a whiner, which I HATE.....I guess I knew I had to quit when at the ripe old age of 46 my physician found spots on my right lung and collapsed veins in my leg. Cool huh ?
After 21 years my old buddy Phillip-Morris finally came calling demanding "his" pound of flesh. And I gave it to "him". How do you tell people that you have never met how much their posts and support meant to you at 2 in the morning when you were desperately trying not to light up ? I never posted a lot, I always found it weird for another "Blair" to visit Blairsville, but after a while I took it as a sign from above and I am not a religious man. I survive a lot of tough things in my life and I am NOT complaining. I've spent many years as a "street level paramedic" in Southern California for a major fire department. I see my share of tragedy 10/24hr. shifts a month. Yet this was much harder, because I couldn't be detached. I had to deal with me, on a level which I don't normally see. After the initial joy that "Dad's finally giving that awful habit up" my own family couldn't see how tough it really was to beat this habit. They figured that after 2 weeks it should all be over with and the yelling should stop. They ignored the sleepless nights, the nightsweats and all the other crap smoking "gives" you. They just didn't want to see me for what I AM. A NICOTINE ADDICT. Always have been, always will be, I just don't smoke anymore. I can't after having a part of my right lung removed 5/30/01 and dacron veins implanted in my leg. I'm grateful I'm back to work now and dealing with my recovery every day. I'm glad I choose not to smoke. Hopefully, I will see my kids graduate and live long enough to be a meaningful part of their lives. Well, now I know why they call this a "ramble". Deets, John Miller, Scottish Ina and ALL the many others who "talked" to me through this board I owe you all a large part of this tired old LA fireman's life. I read of your struggles and knowing others were going through the same situation gave me the courage to keep on trucking.

Because of all of you, Phillip-Morris and I were finally able to part company for good.
I'll still be here lurking through the years. I feel I need to pay it back, if you will by encouraging others. Or maybe it's just that hero complex again...Just kidding.
I am living proof that truly ANYONE can quit. Thanks again ALL of you.

Reserved for Catherine

(Quit smoking 11/24/2000)

Reserved for Tisha

(Quit smoking 12/03/2000)

Tisha's Ramble

Here I go.....................My one year ramble (totally improvised) First off I want to say that I am so thankful to have found this place. This place and those in it have literally saved my life!!!! I know that I have not been around here too much these last six months or so, but not a day goes by that I do not think of everyone here and hope that as each day passes....their miracle continues as well... Quitting smoking has been the most difficult task I have encountered in my life thus far....even raising someone else's children was cake compared to quitting....I do want to stress however, that I did not merely quit smoking.....but I am RECOVERING from the lifestyle of addiction.... Each day I am thankful that I made it through another smokefree day....Yes....even a year later.....Most of my family and quite a few of my friends continue to smoke so....... Once again I can NOT thank you all enough for being there through all the tears, laughter, yelling, screaming, hair pulling, eating frenzies (ha ha ha....I am dealing with that now), depression, euphoria (caused by being proud of ME hehehehehehehe)....etc. etc....I could NOT have come this far without this wonderful place and without knowing all you wonderful people....You are like angels that have been sent to help smokers......

Now that I have thanked you all...I would just like to let you in on what work(s)for me......

Newbies.....and others.....
Remember...You must want to stop smoking MORE THAN ANYTHING IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has to be your number one priority for at least six months.....That is the key......SMOKING IS NOT AN OPTION FOR ANYTHING....

  • Not for your sis-in-law who has been diagnosed with breast cancer (6 months after I quit)
  • Not for the fights you have with your spouse and or anyone else you may disagree with
  • Not for the promotion you received or the wedding celebration you attended or the graduation from college or......You get the picture....
  • Not for the death of a loved one....Or for the pain you see your parent's in on a daily basis....
  • Or the car accident your stepdaughter gets into...Luckily she was ok.....

    I think you get it.....I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.....

    I have to run off to college for a few hours....to take a test....(oh and yes.....smoking does not help you do better on tests either hahahahahahahaha)...but I will be back this afternoon....

    From your friend,
    A NEW Old Fogey.....
    TISHA

    Reserved for Dan M

    (Quit smoking 12/04/2000)

    Dan R

    (Quit 01/01/2001)

    Dan's Ramble
    You CAN DO ANYTHING, If you are willing to do EVERTHING it takes!!!!!!!

    It is in fact a NEW year! Welcome to 2002! Yesterday at 2am I celebrated being quit from smoking for 1 YEAR!!!!!!!!!!
    That, after smoking 2 to 3 packs a day for 30 years!

    Talk about changing behaviors! Everything I relate to in life is "hooked" to smoking, so besides kicking the nicotine addiction (the most powerful drug known to man addiction wise) I had to change how I did everything.

    Lots of people want to know how I did it. I tried over 1000 times to quit! The difference this time is I had a plan. I set a date. I prayed. I got some support from folks who had quit. I read a book " Don't quit smoking alone" By Michael E Reilly (I have given this a few of you) and went to the support group online everyday to make sure I was doing the right things.

    I made a plan to deal with the cravings that I knew would come up and then when the problem arise I was ready. So I am very proud of this success God and my friends help me achieve. I am sharing this with you because of this.

    To change, I had to change ME. To be successful I had to associate with successful people to find out what they did to succeed. I had to have a specific plan. In most cases these "successful" folks already had a plan! I had to know in advance what the problems might show up and have a way that I practiced to deal with them.

    Then I continued to check up on how I was doing and compare, my experience to those who had had the same experience and to adjust accordingly every day some times at first minute by minute.

    So it looks like this.

  • Decided what and when I wanted to do
  • Set a Goal
  • Got Support from the best
  • Change the behaviors that kept be from winning
  • Set up a plan to deal with any roadblocks
  • Practiced
  • Continually checked the course to make sure I was on my plan by comparing myself with those who were winning.
  • Gave Credit to those who guided me and those who helped me.

    I quit accepting the fact there was something I could accomplish that I was not.

    IF I can, YOU can. This will work in our business. Follow the steps, quit accepting the unacceptable!

    Two quotes I'll leave you with:

  • Never let ANYBODY destroy your dream ...... especially yourself... --John Miller , 2001
  • There's a lot more to quitting smoking than quitting smoking --(Blairsville's)BOB TUFF 2001
    Dan Renfro
    D S D M
    I will not Smoke, not me, not today!
    You get what you accept !!!!!!
    Our pride is in > YOU! Dan

    Reserved for JohnT

    (Quit smoking 01/01/2001)

    A one year ramble In three hours it will have been one year since I quit smoking, a momentous occasion after smoking for 26 years. I started smoking at 14, hiding at the bottom of the garden or behind the toilets at school, rebellious and proud of it.

    I can remember making some halfhearted attempts to give up smoking at 17 or 18, but it wasn’t until I was about 25 that I made a serious effort, and stopped for several weeks. This was the first of a series of attempts that spanned 15 years, and embraced tactics ranging from a ‘cold turkey’ approach through gum and patches to hypnotism and acupuncture. It seems that my primary New Year’s resolution for decades was to give up smoking.

    I regularly managed a month or two, but never got much further. The repeated attempts did however provide ample opportunity to observe how not to quit, a topic on which I am expert. The main reason for failure was my ability to rationalize just one cigarette, using an astonishing variety of reasons.

    On 31 December 2000, I told my wife once again of my New Year’s resolution, and she suggested I choose a resolution that I could keep for a change. I agreed of course, because it meant I could still smoke, but the next day the concept of ‘giving up’ giving up was something I could not accept, and at 10 pm on 1 January 2001 I extinguished my last cigarette.

    I used nicotine patches, and started running every morning. January was a familiar battle, the first day in mental turmoil, the hellish first week of physical reaction, the first month hanging in with commitment still strong.

    A turning point for me was at about 6 weeks. I still had strong cravings and I felt that I had exhausted my will power reserves. A future without smoking appeared bleak, resisting cravings like I had forever appeared impossible.

    Desperate, I did a web search and found the Blairsville site and bulletin board. I read everything on the site in the first 24 hours, every message, every ramble, and every article about the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting. The great thing to learn was that there were lots of people like me, going through similar pain and experiencing the same roller coaster ups and downs.

    It was a turning point for my quit; I posted on the board (a bit infrequently), enlisted my wife’s support for a year long effort (we counted the days together), and promised myself I would post a ramble once I achieved ‘fogeydom’. (Here it is!)

    The next months were tough and seemed to last forever, but gradually life got easier. I found that running really helped; in some ways I swapped one addiction for a much healthier one. By month seven I was over the worst, and now after a year not smoking seems normal. Looking back, quitting was one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. Now that I have given up smoking I feel I can do anything!

    I hope this ramble helps someone. Remember to never quit quitting.
    John

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