This morning, on a beautiful sunny California day, I went to the neighboring building to do some studying for my annual checkride coming up soon. This building has a wonderful garden that runs the length of the entire complex complete with a small burbling stream that winds in between coastal redwoods and Japanese maples. Covering the ground are ferns, tiger and Nile lillies, and various cilia that make the place seem like you are deep inside a forest, while only marginally reminding you that you are located deep within an office/hospital campus.
After settling in and reexamining my notes, an annoying odor of cigarette smoke wafted by. I looked around and saw some young medical employee toking rapidly on her heater while jabbering on her cell phone.
While I don't so much mind the cell phone talk, the smell of burning tobacco products definitely was a major downer. Here I was in a semi-idyllic locale, enjoying a man made slice of nature when all of a sudden someone comes by and ruins it with a nasty habit.
My question is this: Since smokers are intent on ruining their health, rather than giving them the most beautiful spot to light up, shouldn't such places as these be reserved for non-smokers? I'm thinking that in accordance with their foul practice they should be given a weedy back alley with broken glass, used rubbers, crack vials, old hypodermic needles covering the asphalt. Then, to give it a touch more atmosphere, pay a few meth whores and homeless people to live there in cardboard boxes so that they can bum cigarettes and make vaguely threatening noises and gestures to these smokers.
It makes no sense that the best places are given to addicts to engage in their chosen vice. Why not give them a place to puff away happily that is more in line with what they are doing to themselves and others?
/shakes his cane at the hooligans
Get off my yard!
Totem
Edited, Jul 16th 2007 3:49pm by Totem