 Editorial
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10-26-02
Lighting up is getting harder
in South Florida --
As many know, I live in the state of Florida. I know,
I know - Florida, the home of hanging chads, old retired
Yankees, poodle worship, gators etc., etc. Well, Florida
has also been known as the last bastion of freedom
for people who smoke cigarettes. Long after it has
been banned everywhere else in the country, you could
still light up and puff away in a restaurant in good
ol' Florida.
Well, that's about to come to an end. Laws are currently
being brought into play that will not only eliminate
Florida's smoking, choking free-for-all, but that will
further tighten things up for people everywhere else
too. I say, good. Why? Like many people, I am an ex-smoker.
Heck, I even worked for Philip Morris for a while when
I was younger. Let me tell you though…smoking is
a bad thing. It will hurt you. I quit smoking because
my youngest son begged me to quit and said "Please
quit, Daddy! I don't want you to die!" He was about
6 years old then. He is now 20 and, much to my great
disappointment, smokes. I asked him to please quit because
I don't want him to die, and it has so far fallen on
deaf ears.
People are doing a lot of complaining down here because
they won't be able to smoke in restaurants when the
new laws go into effect. I say, tough…Boo, Hoo,
Hoo! Did you know that in almost every restaurant a
woman can not breast-feed her baby because patrons might
find it offensive? What could possibly be offensive
about a baby being breast-fed? Yet these same restaurant
owners will allow someone to pollute the air in a place
where people eat. These restaurant owners are afraid
that smokers will not patronize their restaurants if
they can't smoke. Apparently, there are not enough breast-feeding
mothers out there to worry restaurant owners over their
lack of possible patronage. If you are lucky enough
to see a mother breast-feeding her baby, then you are
witnessing one of the most beautiful sights in the world.
I think a group of mothers, say 30 or so, should all
go to one restaurant after another and simultaneously
feed their babies. The restaurant owners might see that
the world is not going to come to an end. Unlike smoking,
I've never heard of anyone dying from breast-feeding.
- JA
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