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I smoked Larks when I went in the Army. Sometime during basic training I bummed a Salem after a run and liked the cool after taste. Most of the young blacks I served with were Kool or Newport smokers and they opened the pack from the bottom to keep the filters clean. Whites were almost all Marlboro (box) smokers. During arguments, usually stereo wars, I remember hearing, "You Marlboro smoking, Budweiser drinking, white sock wearing mother fucker." Or, "You Kool smoking, Schlitz Malt Liquor drinking, in grown hair mother fucker."
I was sent to Canadian jump school in Edmonton where I tried, Cameos, du Maurier and English Ovals until settling on Export A's. They paired nicely with Labatts Blue. Back at Ft Bragg I found Export A's being sold at a gas station just south of Fayetteville. They also sold cigars and I tried Dutch Masters that came in a Cameron wrapper. A major, seeing my five pack of cigars on a FTX, gave me a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur which turned me off Dutch Masters forever.
In college I cut back on cigarettes and cigars but smoked a pipe with Lane 1Q until an art professor turned me onto Mac Baren Virginia No. 1. After college I went back to cigarettes but cut back considerably by smoking unfiltered Camels then Lucky Strikes and briefly Old Golds. I dated and later married a rabid nonsmoker but found myself alone on business in London where I became a dedicated Silk Cut smoker until I bummed a Benson & Hedges Gold.
Two years smoke free (except for one). Ten pounds fatter. I like to think I had my fill while not being brand loyal. I'm not sure Draper would understand.
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20 comments:
Me too. I've smoked many different brands through many different periods in life. And a non-smoker cannot be with a real down to earth black coffee drinking pack a day smoker.
I'll stick to the smoking over the weight gain for now.
A french girlfriend turned me on to Gauloises Bleues among many other things. To this day they are still my favorite, even though I've smoked Marlboro's for the past 5 years. Obviously, I'm still trying to forget her...
Congrats on quitting! Men are so lucky, I quit a year and a half ago and I am 25 pounds heavier!!! Ugh. At least I finally feel I am in a place that I can try to lose weight without immediately wanting a smoke. I was a true blue Marlboro fan for all of my almost 20 years of smoking.
smoked marlboro lights since high school (the 100's for a time, but was told in no uncertain terms by a manager that was "a woman's cigarette). changed to camels because they had a catalog where you get free stuff just for smoking! about 15 zippo lighters later, i got turned on to the lucky strike filters and never looked back...until cartons when over the $50 mark, then went back to marlboro's. all during this time i dabbled in pipes.
i quit cold turkey about 3 years ago (still smoke the pipe on occaision- it pairs remarkably well with a glass of jameson's), and was lucky enough to have army bct take care of the extra weight. :)
Once upon a time I found my never having smoked a thing self, behind the counter at a gas station. A woman waked up and said, “slim PalMal 100’s box”. I didn’t understand a word she said, guessed it must have related somehow to cigarettes and turned to face the wall of smokes. There I was confronted with thousands of boxes, in hundreds of colors, in no apparent order.
I was the only one in the place with a degree, and they all thought I was an idiot.
Old Golds..by Lorrillard...very tasty and damn strong. We used to get them at Black Cat Tobacco in Phila. Cannot find them now...I wonder if they are still produced. Camel nons...excellent as well.
Funny about the African Americans and their menthols...
That's a great shot of you with the chute and the chick. ;)
Remember my dad's unopened pack of unfiltered Gauloises - leftover FROM THE FIFTIES - that you insisted on trying? Closer examination of the content revealed that it was actually cut with...cork. No wonder you hated it. Well, that and the little fact that it was by then some twenty years old. But here's the kicker: I still have that pack. Nineteen left.
-DB
do you get kickbacks for this like with that crappy Take Ivy book I blew 14.00 on. You SUCK!
Hey anonymous 13:42 are identities and eloquence inversley proportionate?
I have never smoked cigarettes, and have never gotten addicted to nicotine.
I enjoy cigars and pipes occasionally. I can smoke a pipe every day for a fortnight, then leave it alone for six months or longer.
Guess I'm lucky.
I'm still ten pounds overweight, and 20 pounds heavier than I was in college. Some aging weight gain is inevitable, it seems.
LSMFT-remember?
I have to agree with the other guy about "Take Ivy." I mean the writing is terrible -- it's like this thing was translated from Japanese or something. And the pictures look like they were taken in the 1960s! What the ^#%#?
Great post. Entertaining.
cg- Have the Italians outlawed it in bars and restaurants yet? They may be the last county in Europe to do so. I love them so.
Anon- You miss it at all?
Skorp- I'm afraid if I start messing around with a pipe I'll be back into cigarettes in no time.
Bro- It's like working at Starbucks.
Main Line- Don't tell me if you're gonna hunt down Old Golds.
DB- Wow, you still have 'em. I'd love to offer one to some unsuspecting smoker friend of mine.
Anon- You're gonna spend a lot of money on a lotta things in life you don't like. Wait 'til you buy a house that sucks or a marry a woman that doesn't.
Bro- A man is as friendly as his identity. Not nearly as poetic as yours.
family man- Fortnight? What's wrong with 2 weeks?
RM - There was a LSMFT in the army that had zero to do with Finer Tobacco. I just can't remember it. Do you?
Anon 21:14- You can swear here.
Anon 5:55- Great comment.
Guess I've been reading too much English (as opposed to American) literature lately.
The Italian state prohibited smoking in restaurants, bars, airports, etc (you know, places we all really enjoy smoking)around 2004. The shock was that it is the one rule they don't break. Go figure.
I believe the UK was the last hold out. They outlawed it just last year. Pity, it was one of the few things I really enjoyed in London.
You can thankfully still smoke in most Italian hospitals but only under the 'No Smoking' sign. Most Italian doctors are beautiful mediterranean women. Italian life expectancy is one longest in the world. Guess they cure you with sex. A Cigarette goes nicely after...
I miss the idea of smoking. A cig makes a great prop when I really needed to emphasize a point I was making (I talk with my hands). I miss how being thinner. Other than that, nope. At first I still loved the smell and would go outside with my still smoking friend (we were supposed to quit together but when she gained two pounds she started again and is still smoking) and enjoy the second hand smoke. Now I really cannot stand the smell. I also enjoy being able to walk up stairs and not be out of breath. Very glad I quit.
Watching 'Mad Men' makes me want to drink and smoke. But, we all know now that one should only smoke on the dance floor. I was lucky my fascination with cigs ended at age 23.
I started smoking Dunhill Reds, then switched to Blues after my voice began to deepen. Occasionally smoked unfiltered Chesterfields when I saw an add in a vintage 1960's Playboy Yes I am that gullible). I also married a rabid anti-smoker (parents both died of smoking related diseases). I now enjoy the occasional Fuente, or Romeo et Juliet cigar and Dunhill mixture 965 pipe tobacco. Much healthier!
I'm that gullible too. Quit cigars little over two years ago. 1926 Padron Anniversarios were my passion. Don't miss 'em that much anymore.
Wow all I can say is that you are a great writer! Where can I contact you if I want to hire you?
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