Tales of a reformed smoker

The last several movies I've watched have had someone, or several someones, smoking.

There's always a warning posted that the movie contains violence, sex, blinking lights or smoking. I've not paid too much attention to the warnings, but in the last few movies I've watched where someone is lightning up and taking that first deep drag, I've been bothered. Bothered so much that I thought back to the time when I took a first deep drag on a cigarette.

That rattled me. I quit smoking 35 years ago. I had quit several times before and it never stuck until the day I walked out of the shower a non smoker.

The day before I went with a friend to lunch. I drove and even though it was a short distance to the restaurant, I had to have a cigarette in the car. My friend had never smoked and I was so addicted that I subjected her to the smoke. I felt so embarrassed but I smoked anyway.

Later that night I ran out of cigarettes and it was too late to run to the store for more. Totally disgusted with myself, I took a shower and when I finished I was a non smoker.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded. I had a planned trip from my home in Los Angeles area to my dear friend here in Lake County. The problem was, she was a heavy smoker. Three packs a day. I knew I couldn't be around any cigarettes if I was to stay a non smoker. So I called my friend and canceled my trip. It was the only time she ever got mad at me. But it was survival for me. She unfortunately died years later of lung cancer.

To complicate things, I headed north on the freeway before I called to cancel my trip. I was so messed up that I turned south instead of north, yet I didn't want to go back home. I had heard about a chichi spa in San Diego so I headed there. Crazy.

When I pulled into the spa, I parked my beater VW Rabbit next to Mercedes, and a Rolls Royce. Not intimidated, I went to the reception desk and introduced myself, “Hi, I'm

Lucy and I just quit smoking.”

The receptionist congratulated me and went to get her supervisor who had also quit smoking. They were so supportive they gave me a huge discount! For the next three days, I used the steam room, the milk baths, the sauna. I ate in my room and had few conversations with the other women who were spa-ing for their own reasons. I suspected many were there after some plastic surgery.

I felt somewhat strong that I had been smoke-free for three days so I continued on my journey that took me north to Santa Barbara, but then I diverted to Hearst Castle. Still crazy.

On the bus from the parking lot to the Castle, I introduced myself once again, “Hi, I'm Lucy and I just quit smoking.”

People were so happy and supportive. Either they had quit themselves, wished they could quit or had never ever smoked.

The tour of the Castle was amazing but what I really remembered was the drive out and the decision to continue north.

At Santa Barbara I parked at the top of State Street and walked the long downhill walk to the ocean. I stopped in many stores introducing myself, “Hi, I'm….”

Tired, I walked back up to my car and continued north.

At Carmel, I located the quaint bed and breakfast where I had stayed for my honeymoon with Husband No. 2. The place was closed for the season but as a reformed smoker, the sweet owner put me up for the night in a darling, cozy room with a big teddy bear on the bed. I slept through the night, cuddling the bear, and had a wonderful breakfast the next morning that I could actually taste without nicotine on my tongue.

At some point I headed back home. I realized that each time I got an urge to smoke, the urge would last seven minutes. If I could distract myself for those seven minutes I could get through the addiction calling me to light up.

The first two weeks were tough but I think my crazy trip helped disrupt the smoking pattern. Eventually the urges became further and further apart.

What's a girl to do?… check the warnings on movies and stay away from ones that post “smoking” for awhile, until the urge goes back to sleep.