marvin Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Ha! Good one Michael! My phrasing was totally wacked-out. Musta been all those drugs I never took.Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 I don't smoke either. I tried my first week in college to "french-inhale" while looking in a mirror. After trying for a long time with two packs of cigarettes, I was so nauseated, I never smoked again! --Darlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostControl Posted August 2, 2004 Share Posted August 2, 2004 One big issue is alcohol combined with smoking. The combination increases tremendously the risk for cancer of the throat, tonsils, vocal chords, etc. It's very common in males who smoke and drink, much rarer in females. How do I know? Sadly, my aunt - one of the rarer female cases - died in 1996 from cancer. It started as cancer of the lip - where the cigarette always sat. Then the tongue - she had to have it removed. Then the tonsils & vocal chords. She ended up weighing 90 pounds with a trach tube suctioning mucous from the hole in her throat and having to write everything because she wasn't able to speak. The only bright spot to her was that she was thin for the first time in her life.She died soon afterwards from the cancer that spread to her lungs.So, when I see photos of Eric - like the Geffen album photo - with the cigarette hanging from his mouth as he plays the guitar, I want to let all those people who think it's sexy know that it's not - it's an addiction that's expensive, smelly, unattractive and deadly. If you can't appeal to people's sense of mortality, appeal to their vanity. No one (especially teens) wants to be unattractive and smelly. I sure hope Eric has quit now that he has 2 small children in the house - both because of the second-hand smoke, and as a role model to them.OK, Time to step down off the soap box and hand it over to someone else for the night. I don't preach about much, but when I saw my favorite aunt in the hospital in unspeakable agony with cancer, with her teeth rotting, her tongue missing, suctioning phlegm from her trach tube, I KNEW that NO ONE deserves to die this way, and it was totally self-inflicted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggiesjc Posted August 2, 2004 Share Posted August 2, 2004 Michelle, what a sad story! I'm very sorry you had to go through that with your aunt. Your story was as powerful to me as any anti-smoking PSA. I've never been a smoker, but I realize how addictive it must be when people who are suffering from cigarette-related disease are still smoking every chance they get. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlene Posted August 2, 2004 Share Posted August 2, 2004 I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your Aunt, Michelle.As a respiratory therapist, I've worked with and around smokers for almost 25 years. One of the very sad things is that even those who smoke to be thin or smoke because it "looks cool" KNOW what it's doing to them....there's proof all around them....it's just such a terrible addiction !! A true physical addiction just like heroin, or even worse for some. It takes a very strong will (and usually some wonderful antidepressants and nicotine replacement) for most people to be able to kick the habit. It's a day by day struggle.....and although i personally have never smoked, my heart goes out to all the wonderful folks who fight that battle daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostControl Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I used to work in the hospital (well, I still do, but in a different department now), and used to see the people on oxygen taking off their O2 masks long enough to take a drag on their cigarette. Can you say "Kaboom!" Oxygen and a lit cigarette just don't mix. Then of course were the patients when I worked at the pharmacy who complained bitterly about the cost of ventolin (their asthma medication), but then always asked for a carton of cigarettes to be added to their bill. Just like the woman who always bitched to high heaven about the cost of all her insulin every month, then went to the food court next door to have ice cream and coke. Yes, I have a MILLION stories about all my nutty patients. Why do you REALLY think I lost all my hair? Some day I'll write a book about them all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlene Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 Michelle, Yes, we all have those stories to tell about crazy things that happen around the hospital. I've never seen any type of explosion associated with smoking and oxygen use, but i've seen some very nasty burns to patient's noses and upper respiratory systems that have been fatal. Not a pretty picture !! But you're right, many patients admitted to the hospital with chronic lung disease want nothing more than to be wheeled outside for a smoke as soon as they feel well enough.....it's actually very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostControl Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I'll climb down from my soapbox now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlesteve Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I think Eric can hit most of the high notes still. At the HOF show I didn't hear him miss any except for one, which he announced prior to the song that he probably would just avoid and would let the band cover for him, in the chorus of I Wanna Be With You... "Oh I Wanna Be With You So BAAAAD"He told me after the show that the hour long interview prior to the show, under the hot lights wiped him out, and dried out his throat. He might still be able to grab that one though with the benefit of better conditions and warming up.That reminds me, don't want to rub it in, but to be sitting just a few rows back on the piano side of the stage watching EC scream out the chorus of Boats Against the Current, I was literally mesmerized, and it paid for our airfare right there. (Thanks June for the help in getting tickets, and Ron for listening to your extensive stash of rare EC)Seattle Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymooladi Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 Your welcome Steve, glad to help out. It was a pleasure to meet you and Cindy. That sure was a great night for me, I don't think I could stop smiling. It was exciting! June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 The "so baaaaad" notes on "I Wanna Be With You" always made me smile. I remember when Raspberries were at Rutgers University, I was in the 2nd row, and everytime Eric hit the "baaad" note, I would look at him, turn my head way up and smile, and he smiled back at me every time. Those are still my favorite notes. A leap of a major 6th is big enough, but in that high key, it's murder! But he always hit them, and I'm sure he still can. We just have to send him a recording of our paraphrase, "Oh, we wanna hear you sing, so BAAAAAD!..." --Darlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted August 4, 2004 Share Posted August 4, 2004 What about these lyrics?"WE WANNA HEAR YOU SING"If we were younger, if you said "no," it would still be alright, but Eric, (CHORUS)Oh, we wanna hear you sing, so BAAAD, Yeah, we wanna hear you sing, Come on Eric,We wanna hear you sing, (oh yeah), help us keep remembering,Well, the book's being shipped, the time is right, if you catch our drift,Come on, Er-ic, We just wanna hear you sing.Someday's a long time, and now our hair's starting to turn gray,(CHORUS)(BRIDGE): Don't ask why, Hearing your voice is just such a high, So just for us, why not give it a try, You can hit it all still--Oh, Eric(CHORUS) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymooladi Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Darlene I'll sing with you! Anytime anywhere. Maybe we should get a bunch of us together and see if we can't motivate him. June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlene Posted August 5, 2004 Share Posted August 5, 2004 Darlene...that is SO funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.