Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Myron Heuer Column 1/5/98



On Dec. 22, 1996, I smoked my last cigarette. That’s over
a year ago. I haven’t had one of those coffin nails since. Nor do I care
to have one.

I remember when I was at the VA Hospital recovering from
a stroke two and a half years ago. Like so many other patients, I couldn’t
wait until I could wheel my wheelchair outside so I could join the other
smokers. You see, you couldn’t smoke in the building. So here we are lined
up in front of the hospital, many in wheelchairs, some dragging along intravenous
bottles, puffing away. We all knew we should quit. To me, it was a long
way to wheel outside. A long hall, down an elevator, down another hall and
then outside.

Well, it took me a year and a half, but I finally quit.
And it was much easier than I expected. Mainly because I had been cutting
down for several months. I still get a craving, but it’s not very often
and it just lasts for seconds.

I think the main reason I couldn’t quit before was the
lifestyle I had. There’s a lot of stress for those in radio broadcasting.
It’s so easy to light up while you’re spinning records. But I don’t do that
any more. So the stress is gone.

Now here’s the best news. The premium on my life insurance
is going to be considerably reduced because I haven’t smoked in a year.


Since this is January, I’d like to share some cold and
wind one-liners with you.

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