I have a question.

[conuly]

If you catch the bus, and don't have money for the fare, and explain to the driver that you really need to be on the bus anyway because your asthma is so bad you cannot walk the 4 blocks to the boat (okay, five blocks - they're long at that point) in this heat....

Is it fair for me to interrupt and ask why you stink of cigarettes at this point in the conversation?

I mean, I didn't, but is that a valid question? Because my gut feeling is that the smoke is far more likely to be hazardous to his health (although I do understand that the heat and humidity is a bad combo for asthmatics in and of itself, of course).

That's the same bus ride in which the baby, for the first time ever, said "Mei-tai!" because she saw somebody wearing her kid in... I don't know, some structured carrier I didn't recognize and that didn't have a visible label.

Comments

Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

I can understand not being able to walk very far in the heat with asthma. :-/ The sad reality is that I've known at least one, if not several, seriously asthmatic smokers in the past -- I'm guessing that either the guy was dx'ed with "asthma" (might actually be one of those smoker-related bronchial conditions) only after he was addicted, or that he's one of the types that grasps danger in the short-term but manages to delude himself about the long-term. Or it could be one of those people that somehow has convinced themselves that smoke doesn't really do "real" harm to asthmatic lungs.

I've had smokers, totally aware of my very severe reaction to tobacco smoke, still give me clothing that had been sitting in their closets, "protect" me by washing their hands, and my personal favorite, state it would probably be safe for me to smoke a hookah. I've seen similarly thoughtless behavior from people with other addictions, so it's no shocker. :-/

Re: Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[conuly]

So it's possible he's just doing damage to himself but I should feel sympathy instead of annoyance? That makes sense.

I wanted to say I don't know how to say how sorry I am your life isn't going too well right now, and personal stuff is going on and all. I meant to say it on your entry, but I didn't know how to say it any better then than now.

Re: Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

I read a long long time ago that smoking actually paralyzes temporarily the csillia in your nose - thus deadening your sense of smell somewhat. I think it is a combination of this along with the adjustment-factor (where you tune out smells after being exposed to them for a while) that allows y mother not to smell the extent of the cigarette smoke in her room (or for that matter anywhere in the house). Instead, she is generally convinced that if I state that I will have to wash clothing that has been stored in her room before letting someone wear it, that I am making it up as a way to get in a disapproving jibe at her. She truly and sincerely believes for instance that the wool kids coats could not possibly have smelled of smoke since they were in the hall closet and still wrapped in plastic from the drycleaner. And she gets immediately upset and defensive if I suggest otherwise...my point being, it may not be thoughtlessness in the way most people are sometimes, but actually a serious psychological obliviousness. Establishing certain requests (e.g, please do not smoke around the kids *even outside*) with my mother has been quite the balancing act since I don't want her totally upset at me all the time! :-)

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Is it fair for me to interrupt and ask why you stink of cigarettes at this point in the conversation?

No, it is not. Let me explain:

I have an asthmatic condition. I do not smoke. However, I am often put into situations where I am forced to share space with smokers. Sometimes, this space is actually outdoors, where I cannot legally tell them to shove their cancer-sticks where the sun doesn't shine. This aggravates my asthma. If I smell like smoke, you can guarantee I'm having an asthma attack right that minute.

If I have to catch a bus in hot weather, that also aggravates my asthma (two ways to ensure an attack with me: bus fumes and cigarette smoke). I do not, by this point, have breath to explain the whole situation, nor do I necessarily want to explain it.

I will grant that the more likely explanation is that he didn't have money for the bus because he spent it on cigarettes, because let's face it, people are stupid, smelly jerks. But just as you're not thrilled when people assume you're the baby's mother, you should not assume that someone claiming to be an asthmatic yet smelling of smoke is a hypocrite or full of shit. Even if, you know, they probably are.

[conuly]

I didn't ask anything - believe me, last thing I wanted was to start a fight on the bus! But I did wonder.

Mei Tais are great!

[dreawd.livejournal.com]

I own lots of carriers and the Mei Tai is one of my favs. I got a 15% coupon right now on my site for any carrier from attachedtobaby
http://dreawd.blogspot.com << the link

Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

I can understand not being able to walk very far in the heat with asthma. :-/ The sad reality is that I've known at least one, if not several, seriously asthmatic smokers in the past -- I'm guessing that either the guy was dx'ed with "asthma" (might actually be one of those smoker-related bronchial conditions) only after he was addicted, or that he's one of the types that grasps danger in the short-term but manages to delude himself about the long-term. Or it could be one of those people that somehow has convinced themselves that smoke doesn't really do "real" harm to asthmatic lungs.

I've had smokers, totally aware of my very severe reaction to tobacco smoke, still give me clothing that had been sitting in their closets, "protect" me by washing their hands, and my personal favorite, state it would probably be safe for me to smoke a hookah. I've seen similarly thoughtless behavior from people with other addictions, so it's no shocker. :-/

Re: Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[conuly]

So it's possible he's just doing damage to himself but I should feel sympathy instead of annoyance? That makes sense.

I wanted to say I don't know how to say how sorry I am your life isn't going too well right now, and personal stuff is going on and all. I meant to say it on your entry, but I didn't know how to say it any better then than now.

Re: Addictions do that to the brain, I think...

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

I read a long long time ago that smoking actually paralyzes temporarily the csillia in your nose - thus deadening your sense of smell somewhat. I think it is a combination of this along with the adjustment-factor (where you tune out smells after being exposed to them for a while) that allows y mother not to smell the extent of the cigarette smoke in her room (or for that matter anywhere in the house). Instead, she is generally convinced that if I state that I will have to wash clothing that has been stored in her room before letting someone wear it, that I am making it up as a way to get in a disapproving jibe at her. She truly and sincerely believes for instance that the wool kids coats could not possibly have smelled of smoke since they were in the hall closet and still wrapped in plastic from the drycleaner. And she gets immediately upset and defensive if I suggest otherwise...my point being, it may not be thoughtlessness in the way most people are sometimes, but actually a serious psychological obliviousness. Establishing certain requests (e.g, please do not smoke around the kids *even outside*) with my mother has been quite the balancing act since I don't want her totally upset at me all the time! :-)

[mortaine.livejournal.com]

Is it fair for me to interrupt and ask why you stink of cigarettes at this point in the conversation?

No, it is not. Let me explain:

I have an asthmatic condition. I do not smoke. However, I am often put into situations where I am forced to share space with smokers. Sometimes, this space is actually outdoors, where I cannot legally tell them to shove their cancer-sticks where the sun doesn't shine. This aggravates my asthma. If I smell like smoke, you can guarantee I'm having an asthma attack right that minute.

If I have to catch a bus in hot weather, that also aggravates my asthma (two ways to ensure an attack with me: bus fumes and cigarette smoke). I do not, by this point, have breath to explain the whole situation, nor do I necessarily want to explain it.

I will grant that the more likely explanation is that he didn't have money for the bus because he spent it on cigarettes, because let's face it, people are stupid, smelly jerks. But just as you're not thrilled when people assume you're the baby's mother, you should not assume that someone claiming to be an asthmatic yet smelling of smoke is a hypocrite or full of shit. Even if, you know, they probably are.

[conuly]

I didn't ask anything - believe me, last thing I wanted was to start a fight on the bus! But I did wonder.

Mei Tais are great!

[dreawd.livejournal.com]

I own lots of carriers and the Mei Tai is one of my favs. I got a 15% coupon right now on my site for any carrier from attachedtobaby
http://dreawd.blogspot.com << the link