One night, February 17th, 1979, I was laying in bed at the Admiral Benbow Inn, in Biloxi, Mississippi watching the Johnny Carson show. The weather was terrible for the Gulf Coast, a very cold rain with some sleet mixed in.
As I reached over to get another cigarette, I found that I only had one left in the pack. The only way to get some was to go to the lobby, and I was on the back side, a good little walk in the rain plus I would have to get up and get dressed. Not something that I wanted to do, but I didn't think I could wake up and not have a cigarette to light immediately. I checked to see if I had sixty cents in change, to fit the machine they were in, and first decided to go get a pack.
Then I thought gosh I have been wanting to quit, and this looks like a good time. So, I turned the TV off, and the lights out and went to sleep.
The next morning it was really tough but I stuck with it. After breakfast, I grabbed a wooden toothpick to try and satisfy my nicotine craving. I chewed that toothpick, until it looked like a toothbrush. This continued for about 3 weeks until I felt that I had won the battle. I'll bet I chewed a cord of wood during that time. All the time I was telling myself and others that when I turned 65, I was going to buy a pack and chain smoke them one right after the other until they were all gone.
When I did turn 65, they told me the pack of Marlboro was going to cost me $4.00 or so which scared me into giving up that idea.
You know, sixty cents a pack was wasteful, but I don't think I could ever pay that kind of price for something just to burn up and that was also very bad for your health
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