This is Difficult

I have not blogged since April 28th. The reason that I haven't done any blogging is a simple one. I have been putting all my energy into stopping a habit that I have had for 30 years.

I was in the Navy in 1977 when I transferred to a new command. I was part of what is called a pre-commissioning Unit for the USS Bremerton. On that crew we several people who had the habit that I am now trying to stop. Chewing tobacco.

I guess it started as a joke. We had an officer that would get sick to the point of throwing up when he knew people were chewing tobacco. Being an enlisted person meant that we had to take full advantage of that. And we did. We would parade one new person after another in front of this officer while doing some novel thing to show him that you had started chewing or dipping. I was one of the first "new people" to start. That was 1978 and I decided it was time to stop. So on April 28, 2008 I stopped at a gas station and discarded all of the tobacco that I had left. At 2PM that day to got rid of my last chew and started on the road to being tobacco free.

I used to drink a lot of alcohol. I was never a real constant or heavy drinker but I had my share. My health made me stop. No problem...I just put it down. That is not to say that someone who is an alcoholic can just put it down. It is a hard thing to do.

Let me tell you that stopping tobacco use is not an easy task. Those that have stopped smoking or chewing will tell you that it ain't a simple or easy task. This is by far one of the hardest things I have ever done.

So I stopped blogging to put all of my energy into the effort. Thus far it has paid off. At 2PM today it will be 3 weeks. I have chewed a lot of gum and ingested nearly a big bag of hard candies, but I am still on track.

So I hope to be back on these familiar pages more often. Might even continue to chronicle how my efforts to stop tobacco use are proceeding.

I just want to thank all of you that have been praying for me as I try to quit. I also want to thank all who read and comment on my blog.