Thursday December 1st 2011    Tim Candler

      I remember the days when smoking was permitted and much cheaper on airplanes. There was a little light on the cabin ceiling above the head rest of the seat in front that some of us would stare at as though struck by the Almighty until it turned off.  Mind you I can also remember when a youngster, to keep him from wandering, was permitted to enter the cockpit, so he might worship pilots, co-pilots and navigators.  Three jobs for which success at mathematics, ability to wear a hat and cigarette smoking were obviously critical.

     Recent fashion requires cigarette smokers to spend at least some of their day and night in the fresh air.  There are I guess the immovable who can still be found drooped over the kitchen table with cigarette ash in their egg yolk and a cigarette butt in their coffee cup. Those fortunate few for whom a kitchen stove is also a cigarette lighter. But for those of us who have accepted change the benefits of mingling with the fresh air include hearing Sandhill Cranes flying amongst stars.

Previous    Next