Archive for March, 2010
Something extraordinary happened to me recently. Something I never thought would happen. I stopped smoking. I smoked my last cigarette on St. Patrick’s Day, 2010. This is no small feat, considering I’ve been smoking since I was 12. That’s 42 years, for those who don’t feel like doing the math. The extraordinary thing about it is that I’ve used no stop smoking aids or any other assistance to help me stop smoking. I simply didn’t want to do it anymore.
Kevin Pruett and Sons
The day before St. Patrick’s Day, I got the news that a friend had passed away. Kevin Pruett had died of lung and brain cancer the day before Thanksgiving, 2009. Kevin was one of those friends (acquaintance, really) who briefly drift into your life and then drift back out again, just as quickly. We had worked together briefly but, more importantly, he had been in a relationship with a long time friend of mine and I really knew him through her. Kevin was a musician, a bass player in a band, and she and I had spent many nights in bars and clubs “watching Kevin play”. Because of our friendship, she was the maid of honor at my 1995 wedding and Kevin was the best man. Their relationship ended abruptly and that ended my relationship with Kevin, as well. We never spoke again, however, since Kevin was a performer, I was able to follow his career and – to a certain extent – his life, online, thanks to sites such as MySpace and Facebook. One thing that always impressed me about Kevin was his conviction that he be a performer, even when it wasn’t popular nor profitable. After all, Kevin was pushing 40 at the time – a little old to be “in a rock band”. He refused to give up, however and continued to play and pursue his dream. I truly admired that about Kevin.
Though I never kept in touch with him, I did “look in” on Kevin, periodically via MySpace. I noted that he had married after splitting up with my friend and had fathered two beautiful boys, Brandon and Eric. Pictures of the boys began to multiply on his sites. It was obvious from his writings and photos that he was a very proud, loving Dad. He also wrote about cancer. A smoker, Kevin had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007. The lung cancer ultimately spread to his brain, as well. I have since learned that Kevin was told in February 2009 that he no longer had any trace of cancer in his body. By November, however, Kevin was deceased. He was 47 years old.
I don’t know why the death of a person I barely knew had such a profound eff
ect on me. I thought about how hard it must have been for Kevin to know he would have to leave his beloved children behind. That thought terrifies me. I thought about how utterly stupid it was for me to be increasing the odds that I, too, would have to confront this disease. Utterly…stupid. My brain turned this phrase over and over until, suddenly, I no longer had any desire to smoke. None. It was gone – just like that. Strange, I know. But — thanks, Kev…
Sleep-Snug Sheet Clips are plastic clips that attach to the “bead” (the ridge around your mattress) to hold the sheets in place. FYI – these things ROCK! I have a very tall, pillow top mattress and the sheets always slip off. These are a bit difficult to get on but once they’re installed, they actually hold the sheets secure and THEY STAY ON!!! They don’t damage the sheets, either, like traditional “sheet suspenders” have… a tendency to do! Yay! Bought mine at Meijer but you can also get them at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Amazon and other places.
