Smoking divers

[tinman]

GQMedic once bubbled...
No shortage of paramedics that smoke! Gotta love the cloud crowd!

...sad, I guess the "shortage" will become more severe in the not to distant future. I had a brother with your cavalier attitude...he died in his early 40s after years of chemo, looking like he was in his 90s with a cig still hanging from his mouth. There are other ways to look macho - have you tried weight lifting...

 

[jepuskar]

Last month in Bonaire after coming up from a dive, I saw a diver get out of the water..go straight to his dive bag and grab some smokes....he proceeded to light up with all of his gear still on.

He tore down all of his equipment rinsed it out and hung it up on his hook all with the cig still in his mouth.

Unbelievable! Pretty darn pathetic if you ask me! Maybe his Patch came off underwater.

 

[SeaJay]

divemistress once bubbled...
go after the obese.

)Bwerb and SeaJay may be exceptions. With their strength of will, they probably can slay fierce dragons, climb tall mountains, and abandon negative behaviors within moments of identifying them. But they are SuperBeings. )

I know you were just kidding, but I find the joke flattering nonetheless. And as a guy, I would probably do best if I just kept my mouth shut and allowed y'all to joke about how I must be some sort of superhero for being able to kick the habit.

But that's just not true.

Firstly, I once told someone here when they lit up while trying to quit that they'd "fallen off the bandwagon." I then told them to get back on... That it didn't matter if they'd fallen or not... That it only mattered if they got back on.

Well, I'm not perfect. I've fallen off too. But you can't beat yourself up over it. You have to take your licks and get back on.

I'm flattered that you think that we can accomplish such amazing things. But it's not the "willpower" or the "superbeingness" of it... It's the fact that we just keep getting on the bandwagon.

Napoleon, the famous military leader, was once asked, "What do you most value in a soldier?" Everyone was prepared to hear the answer, "loyalty," or "courage" or "strength" or "intelligence," or "military ability." Instead, without hesitation, he said, "persistence." He most valued the guy who just did not give up.

At the same time, those people who are best at this skill will also learn from their mistakes, and change something... Rather than commit the same mistake time after time. Those two together... The refusal to give up and the ability to learn from one's mistakes... Those two, I have found, are the very core to success... Whether it be in business, physical prowess, drug addiction, or whatever.

I've seen it time and time again. Read the failures of Abraham Lincoln. Read the failures of Thomas Edison. Read the failures of Albert Einstein, Christopher Columbus, John F. Kennedy, General Norman Schwatrzkoff, Alexander Graham Bell, or whoever. Pick someone that you think is successful and find out how many times they failed before succeeding.

Sure, it has to do with willpower... And it has to do with strength, intelligence, planning, and all of it... But the #1 skill to have if you want success, no matter what it is, is persistence.

All I did was quit smoking one more time than I failed. I'm not a superbeing.

 

[cyklon_300]

most of the smokers I encounter. Rude, lazy, and insensitive. Typical of most addicted personality types.

On my last liveaboard trip, one woman objected to smoking being allowed only at the stern of the boat...she didn't like the smell of the diesel fumes back there...I thought the irony was perfect.

The line should actually read, 'I smoke, therefore I annoy a lot of people...'

 

[wetvet]

Hmmm....Im a type A, kinda smoker (im actually one of those rare folks who can have a couple of cigarettes one day and not care that I don't have any the next), I was obese (and probably will be again....I ride the rollercoaster), I drink, have dove hung over, have a temper, wear my wetsuit too tight (I think it makes me look buff), have a funky ankle that dislocates at odd times, and feel anxious when my insomnia kicks in. I will buddy with ANYONE!!!! The rule with my dive group is that you only get the gear if you bring your buddy's carcass back.....If it stays on the bottom, salvage rules apply.

I believe you dive with the whole package, and have the right to refuse to dive with anyone you want, but I dont think there is any one thing that makes a buddy "unfit". Some of the guys hands I would most gladly put my life in are smokers who wouldn't pass the BMI test.....they are calm, cool headed, well educated and thorough.

Of course, the person I buddy with the most is my wife, and I think she wants rid of me anyway;-0

Wetvet

 

[divemistress]

wetvet once bubbled...
I believe you dive with the whole package, and have the right to refuse to dive with anyone you want, but I dont think there is any one thing that makes a buddy "unfit". Some of the guys hands I would most gladly put my life in are smokers who wouldn't pass the BMI test.....they are calm, cool headed, well educated and thorough.

Wetvet

 

[GQMedic]

Gee tinman,

I have this brand new heavy pack of smokes, I can always combine weight lifting and smoking! Yeah baybee, now THATS macho! *puff puff* He died at 40 eh? right on! Hey! Maybe that means I've got 5 years to go!

I'll just forgo the chemo and smoke the cancer out too..

Hey, don't smoke, excersize daily, eat right, get plenty of rest, die clutching yer chest from a MI anyway! *tips muh hat*

Hey Tinny, wanna smoke? *puff puff* We can hang out together and puff to our lung's content!

Nitrogen, Oxygen and nicotine, the TRIMIX of champions! Yeah baybeee...

-Dennis
-Smokin with Tinny in the cold waters of So. Cal.

tinman once bubbled...

...sad, I guess the "shortage" will become more severe in the not to distant future. I had a brother with your cavalier attitude...he died in his early 40s after years of chemo, looking like he was in his 90s with a cig still hanging from his mouth. There are other ways to look macho - have you tried weight lifting...

 

[GQMedic]

*burp* Sorry, I'm rude. *lazy stretch* *belch* *insensitive look* Pardon me, where are my manners?? Sheesh! Wanna cigarette?

*puff puff*

I just love it when non-smokers get thier panties in a bunch! Such emotional and sensitive beings! *puff puff* Here, light up with Tinny and I!

-Dennis
Smokin' with "muh bros" Tinny and Cyko" in the cold waters of So Cal. (And laughing my hiney off)

cyklon_300 once bubbled...
most of the smokers I encounter. Rude, lazy, and insensitive. Typical of most addicted personality types.

On my last liveaboard trip, one woman objected to smoking being allowed only at the stern of the boat...she didn't like the smell of the diesel fumes back there...I thought the irony was perfect.

The line should actually read, 'I smoke, therefore I annoy a lot of people...'

 

[GQMedic]

Seajay, you rock! ^5s

SeaJay once bubbled...


I know you were just kidding, but I find the joke flattering
All I did was quit smoking one more time than I failed. I'm not a superbeing.

 

[tinman]

GQMedic once bubbled...
I can always combine weight lifting and smoking! Yeah baybee, now THATS macho!

{sigh}...I guess I can hope that someone else will see the irony in your comments and consider a lifestyle change. I don't share cyklon's view of stereotypying smokers - as with all addictions, they cover the spectrum of mankind with equal shares of foibles and virtues.

GQ: why not consider a career change, I understand the Marlboro man fell off his horse...and died of lung cancer.