Category: smoking

Pennies from Heaven

Posted in college, drugs, Eric Clapton, firsts, head shop, high school, humor, Iowa, J.J. Cale, memoir, music, relationships, smokingLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was sixteen, I saved up my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven

X is for DEXA X-ray

Posted in calcium, Dexa scan, Great Depression, humor, osteoporosis, relationships, sedentary life, smoking, weight-bearing exercise, x-rayLeave a comment

X-ray seems like a cop-out for the letter x. There aren’t many words that start with x – Xenia, X marks the spot, and xenophobia. None of that moved me. So I am writing about the old standby – x-ray. I really did have an x-ray this week, yesterday actually. It was a bone density… Continue reading X is for DEXA X-ray

California Burning

Posted in air quality, commute, dogs, fire fighter, fires, Monterey Bay, oxygen, Paradise, smokingLeave a comment

I escaped to Monterey with the dogs for two days.  The sky was white, but I couldn’t smell the smoke that was choking the San Francisco Bay area from the Butte County fire. I watched the news, forty-eight dead, hundreds more missing, the town of Paradise 80% gone.  Telephone poles still falling, burned-out cars along… Continue reading California Burning

No More Cigarettes

Posted in California, dating, humor, Iowa State University, last, memoir, parents, relationships, smoking, son, vapingLeave a comment

My friend Kelly hasn’t smoked a cigarette in 172 days. After thirty-seven years of the puffing habit, she is proud of herself. Chantix helped. Wanting to quit helped more. Wanting better health and to be a good role model for her kids helped the most. Kelly craves a cigarette after finishing a meal. It’s a… Continue reading No More Cigarettes

Pennies from Heaven

Posted in college, drugs, Eric Clapton, firsts, head shop, high school, humor, Iowa, J.J. Cale, memoir, music, relationships, smokingLeave a comment

When I was sixteen, I saved up my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of the… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven

To Smoke or Not to Smoke

Posted in California, dating, firsts, friends, high school, humor, memoir, relationships, smoking, sorority, worstLeave a comment

My friend Kelly hasn’t smoked a cigarette for 75 days. After thirty-seven years of the puffing habit, she is proud of herself. Chantix helped. Wanting to quit helped more. Wanting better health and to be a good role model for her kids helped the most. Kelly craves a cigarette after finishing a meal. It’s a… Continue reading To Smoke or Not to Smoke