bassplaying.com where bass guitar takes center stage

Oh for God sake’s Wheat you don’t owe me an apology. I said “aggravated” not pissed off….LOL! I just don’t like getting tossed under the bus with the cigarette companies. If I took it the wrong way (which it sounds I did) then you have MY apologies.

My guitarist has a Halloween party. I go to this party most of the time. He and his wife are both non-smokers. However, when they have a party they allow smoking in their house. Now I’ll be out on his pouch shivering and he’s told me numerous times I could smoke inside. What the Hell is the difference as there are already ten people in their smoking at any given time anyway. But, still I smoke outside. Not because I feel the second hand smoke is going to kill anyone. I guess it’s just out of respect. So, smoking on the porch is no problem with me Wheat.

Now my friend Brian and I went to Canada. Now if you think I’m going on an 18 hour trip without smoking forget about it! Now if he didn’t want me smoking in his vehicle that’s fine, I’ll drive.

This may be hard to believe but I didn’t come out of the womb, open Heineken with my lighter, and spark up a Marlboro. I WAS a non-smoker. As a non-smoker smoke just never bothered me. I let my smoking friends smoke in my car, and in my home. I only ever complained about it one time when I had two heavy smokers in my car in the winter. It was extremely cold out and both of them smoking at the same time was a bit much. I asked if they could please smoke one at a time. That did aggravate my one friend but I thought it was a reasonable solution.

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend. I told him a smoking ban would not really alter my life in any great degree. I normally will combine business and pleasure. Someone will call and say they are running low on pool chalk or something. Not a service call their just letting me know they are running low so next time I’m in the area I can drop some off. So, maybe I feel like a Heineken. What I’ll do is take some chalk to the location and sit down and have a few Heinekens. Now if I’m sitting down for one it’s going to be four or five….LOL! Now I might do this twice a week. With a smoking ban I just won’t stay and drink four or five. I’ll just wait until I’m in the area to drop off the chalk. The only other time I really go out much is to meet a friend for drinks or a gig or a date. I smoke on breaks and drink a Heineken. So, I’ll go out to my truck to smoke. I’m looking on the bright side of this thing. I figure I can invite that poor freezing cold smoking woman to my truck for warmth and smoking. You know….. cut one of the weak ones away from the herd….LOL! So, if you add that all up the bars of PA will probably lose about 12 Heinekens a week in sales. It doesn’t seem like a lot but what if there are 10 guys thinking like me (120 beers) a hundred guys (1,200 beers), well you see where I’m heading. I worry over the future of the bars, taverns, and nightclubs.

The tobacco companies don’t have near the money or resources that the pharmaceutical companies, and Government that are driving these bans forward have. I don’t blame Johnson and Johnson for the huge push as the payday for them is tremendous. But, I sure don’t like the tactics being employed.

Dave

Thanks Wheat! You don't have to worry about stoking the fire. Hell check out the 25 page letter I sent to the PA Senate-House Comittee:

Senate-House Comittee Letter

Dave