Be forewarned: I’ll be taking yet another trip in the ol’ wayback machine, so tap out now if you don’t want to suffer my nostalgic waxings, or musings, or “get off my lawn” buffoonery. There was a time in the not so distant past when people smoked pretty much everywhere. Aside from bathyscaphes or the occasional oxygen tent, and even then it was enter at your own risk, it was the norm, not the exception, to be in an environment with lit cigarettes. You younger folks may not believe this, but smoking was not banished to remote, outdoor areas, but was allowed in most businesses, some schools and hospitals, and airplanes. Airplanes, you scoff? Yes! But it was confined to the back of the plane. And lest you wonder if non-smoking passengers had to endure hours of second hand smoke in a confined space, there was an implied, invisible barrier in the middle of the plane. In other words, they may as well have fired up an unfiltered Pall Mall themselves. Smoking in tight areas with poor ventilation was not entirely uncommon, occuring in buses, trains, and taxi cabs as well. Next time you plug an electronic device into the “power port” of your car, remember that in a former iteration, it was the nesting place of a cigarette lighter.
Times have certainly changed; that’s all I’m saying. Speaking of smoking, I remember, on more than one occasion, making ashtrays during arts and crafts, once in elementary school, for crying out loud! All the kids were making them, whether or not their parents even smoked! What could be easier than shaping a shallow bowl out of clay, flattening the bottom, and making a couple of notches in the side with a pencil? You’re welcome! Don’t forget to check my retro-Pinterest site for more helpful gift ideas. If I haven’t already lost you, allow me to opine more on how different things were. I flew to France in ‘86 on Trans World Airlines. At that time in Paris, I’m pretty sure your passport would’ve been confiscated if you didn’t light up a Gitanes immediately upon landing at de Gaulle. This was my first trip flying anywhere, on any continent. I packed just under forty pounds of stuff for two weeks, in a suitcase that would not have seemed out of place in a black and white movie. Mind you, my buddy and I were kind of on the cheap, utilizing public transportation the entire vacation. I know I’m asking rhetorically, but have you ever had the misfortune to drag an unwieldy anchor through a foreign city? During morning rush hour? After about an hour of sleep on a smoke filled plane? Side note: If the guy or girl that first put wheels and retractable handles on luggage didn’t get a Nobel Prize, then nobody should.
Only because of the gift (or curse) of hindsight can we have a perspective of how we have evolved, either for better or worse. To be redundant, we don’t know what we’re missing if we don’t know what we’re missing. It may simply be a matter of comfort or convenience, but it could also be much, much more important and impactful.
Are you missing out?
(Click “Stand On Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into Smokes On A Plane)
Stand On Firmer Ground