Puff

So things have changed on the undergraduate scene since I've been there. I graduated with my first Bachelor's degree in 2001. I did take a few extra classes after that to pick up various prerequisite courses for a couple different programs, so say the last time I was in an undergrad institution was 2003. That's 5 years. Doesn't seem so long. But it was a big shock going back to campus.

I think the thing that shocked me the most was the number of people that smoke. I mean, really? People still do that?

But you'll find multiple groups clustered outside the doors of every building on campus, puffing away.

Today I was sitting on a bench beneath some stairs eating my breakfast. I must have put off that smoker vibe. Or maybe it because now I'm older, (33!!) and a non-trad student. But an older gentleman approached me and sat down next to me, commenting on the nice weather. I responded, and we exchanged pleasantries. Then he promptly pulled out a pack and a lighter.

And he was surprised that I got up and left because I didn't want to inhale his poisonous cloud.

It blows me away how many smokers continue to smoke knowing the consequences. It just seems to me that there are plenty of things that we can't avoid that will kill us. Why not eliminate at least one we can avoid, and toss the cancer sticks.

Just when I thought humanity was evolving to a more intelligent place.