Walker Joe Quit Smoking For Good

The nasty habit hung around until the air force sent him to England in the summer of 1950. A carton of cigarettes, at the Post Exchange (PX), cost one dollar. The English would gladly pay $4.20 for a carton of Pall Malls. So, the profit on his allotment of six cartons was enormous ($20 was a lot of money in England in 1950) and afforded him a weekend in paradise, London. The lure of London overwhelmed his desire to smoke, and he quit a second time: cold turkey. He knows what you are thinking. Selling cigarettes to the English at inflated prices was illegal. You are absolutely correct, but every nonsmoking GI was doing it, including members of the Air Police. Hopefully, the statue-of-limitations have expired.

Walker Joe's tour of duty in England ended in October '52. He was flown from Preswick Scotland to Westover Field, Mass. Flying home was fortunate in a way. He became infected with infectious hepatitis and spent three months in the hospital. Thank God, he was given high priority, since he was nearly four months over his rotation date and very homesick. Flying was a vast improvement over another voyage on a troopship.

He had served about seven months of a contract extension called Harry Truman's year. Uncle Sugar decided not to reassign Walker Joe, and he was set free. Does anyone remember the 'Korean Situation?' That's a funny name for a war, isn't it? He mostly remembers Public Law 550, the Korean GI Bill, which helped pay for his college. If he had been in 'Charlie' land it could have been something entirely differently ... or nothing at all.

He returned to Georgia Tech in January '53 with healthy lungs, having refrained from smoking for slightly more than two years. Soon, he was working forty hours a week and going to night school four nights a week. The pressure got to him. Yes, he started smoking again, and he continued smoking until he graduated in April '57.[br
Walker Joe accepted an engineering position with the Bendix Corporation in Hamilton, Ohio, and he continued puffing away a pack-and-a-half-a-day. One night, at a restaurant in Middletown, Ohio, he met the love of his life, and on May 6, 1959, they got hitched. Marjorie Lee, his bride, talked him into quitting shortly after the wedding. His life had new meaning and love provided the motivation for him to quit smoking a third time: cold turkey.

He stayed clean for about seven months, until Marjorie's uncle Herman came over for a barbecue smoking Springs, a new brand of menthol cigarettes. Walker Joe thought, I'll just try just one. I've got it licked now. He went for one, and the next day, he was smoking over a pack a day. Yes, he was

Shortly after he started smoking again, they moved to Florida for four years. Then they spent two years in Connecticut. In May 1966, they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, Marjorie's hometown. He had acquired an engineering job with General Electric. Now, he had been smoking again for about seven years, his longest stretch. Smoking was starting to adversely effect his health. Wrong! They were killing him, and on January 1, 1967, Walker Joe made good on a New Year's resolution to quit smoking forever. Life's too precious to shorten it smoking cigarettes, and this reasoning help rally the courage to quit a fourth and last time. Sure, he quit cold turkey, and since, he has never put one of those stinking cancer sticks between his lips.

There are many reasons to quit a filthy, useless, and expensive habit that steals a little bit of your life every time you light up. Living a long, healthy life is a very good one. Then, there's a caring mother, a loving wife or husband and the grandchildren, a sweetheart, weekends to somewhere, and fresh smelling surroundings, to consider. You could simply be selfish and do it for yourself. And it's never too late.

When you quit, never put another cigarette between your lips. If you do, you'll be smoking your usual number of cigarettes a day, and all will have been for naught. Never! This is the trap smokers who have quit fall into.

If, after reading this somewhat corny but sincere personal confession, you are not motivated to quit, make it a game. You win big if you quit. You lose big if you don't.

The life you save will be your own!

You can reach Walker Joe at: walker@walkerjackson.com