The "The Lady With The Cigarette Did It!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching the smoke rise from the cigarette being held by the woman on my television.  Yes...a woman!  The show was Perry Mason and as they zoomed in on the woman, it looked as if she had to be the guilty party!  How could a woman smoking a cigarette not be guilty?  So, when was the last time you saw someone smoking?  I can't remember the last time I saw anyone smoking...except for the woman on the Perry Mason show a few days ago.  I think back to the "Good Ol' Days" when my Mom and Dad both smoked cigarettes.  All the time!  And so did my Uncle Bob, my Aunt Virginia, most of my friends and myself!  I also smoked a pipe, since my Grand-dad smoked a pipe and I thought he looked so neat smoking it.  Perry Mason aired on Television from 1957 to 1966 and seems like everyone on the show smoked except Perry and his secretary!  Paul Drake,  Perry's side-kick smoked as did just about every criminal on the show.  You could count on cigarette commercials airing just about  every time you turned on your Television.  Both regulars and menthols as well as cigarettes with filters on them were pushed on TV.  And....all these little eyes were watching.  That's when I decided to begin smoking.  That...and the fact that my mom and dad smoked.  When they found out about my smoking, they tried to have me smoke a pipe instead of cigarettes, since my Granddad smoked a pipe and he was already in his early 80s.  Certainly had to be better for you than cigarettes they decided.  When they first approached me about finding something in my bedroom, I thought it was my "Playboy" magazine, but when they began talking about smoking, I knew I was safe!  If you are reading this and are in your 60s or later...I'll bet you might have smoked at some point in your life.  Hey...it was the thing to do back then.  My family doctor's oldest son smoked and even got caught stealing a carton of cigarettes from the Acme Supermarket where I worked part-time in the 1960s.  Bet hs da didn't like that!  I smoked through high school and part-way through college until I met a young girl named Carol.  Her mom and my dad worked together and when I saw a photo of her, I asked my dad to find out how I could get a date with her.  A week or so later he told me to call her and ask about a date.  Did so...and the rest is history.  But...when she found out that I smoked cigarettes, she gave me an ultimatum....Either it was her or my cigarettes.  I haven't smoked anything since that day back in 1966.  Memories such as these never escape me.  To this day, I believe she saved my life, since I stopped smoking that fateful day in 1966.  And...as you may be aware..most of the smokers from the past have either died from smoking or have given it up.  And most of those who haven't given up smoking appear on Perry Mason.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.