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Show DAVIS COUNTY CLIPPER, DAVIS REFLEX JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 27, 1985 T? Wednesdays woman CD BEHAVIOR O Moss Tib Smote Don My Lumgs 3 By SIdDD Condy Schulman Three 1 months, two weeks four days have last had a How do I I miss the smoke going down into my since On my last smoking day, crushed every cigarette in the house (I couldnt throw them away, lest I fish them out of the garbage later). It was just days after Id convinced myself, for the umpteenth time, that I could never stop smoking. Two weeks went by, albeit slowly. I thought about Panic in Needle Park and waited for the stomach convulsions to arrive. I smoked pens, carrots and fingers. I drank gallons of water to wash the nicotine out of my system, and cooked haute cuisine meals to keep my hands busy. I doodled a lot, and became addicted to crossword puzzles (a positive addiction). Oh, but I wanted a cigarette! How I missed my negative addiction! more than Ive ever missed my husband, chocolate cake on diets, sunshine in winter... I lungs. My older brother initiated me into the world of smoking by daring me to take a drag when I was 10. I bought my first pack in sixth grade, when ritual smoking was a growing-urather than a danger to your health. p My girlfriend and I used to share packs; wed strut through the streets with butts hanging from our lips like the Jets in West Side Story. Cool, man. Before returning home, Id always chew half a pack of gum to eliminate the odor from my breath. My nonsmoking family would have disapproved. I always loved smoking, and I used to practice doing it in front of the bathroom mirror. Ever since I can remember, Id get a buzz whenever my girlfriends mother lit up near me. Even when the dangers of smoking became oppressively publicized, spreading guilt through me every time I reached for a cigarette, still I loved to smoke. A friend in medical school would describe my constricted arteries and blackened lungs, and warn me that my face would wrinkle more rapidly. Still I didnt stop. Why do you smoke? people always asked. (Why do people drink? Eat chocolate? Fall in love?) I couldnt sit near anyone who smoked, due to my fantasies of grabbing the smoker in a half-nelso- n until he surrendered his cigarettes, then off Id go, merrily puffing away. Luckily, I didnt have many smoking friends left. I was the last of a dying breed. Thirty-on- e days without a cigarette and I was still alive amazing. As a reward, my husband bought me a dozen pens in assorted colors, a notebook for doodling and an advanced crossword puzzle book. See? he said, its not so bad, is it? I survived a series J of firsts without the aid of cigarettes. The first leisurely restaurant meal (a deal). The first cocktail party (chain smoking) and wedding reception (a affair). four-cigaret- te I have taken to substituting a toothpick for a cigarette after meals; my husband laughs and tells me I look tough. Still cool, man. And I realize that I can do everything without cigarettes. Telephone calls. Business meetings. Arguments with my husband. I begin to feel even a sense of control, rather than cigarettes controlling me. No longer do I have to plan my life around cigarettes. Free. Then why am I still thinking and dreaming menthols? If its simply oral gratification, why dont hard candies do their job? Yes, the cravings come less often, but I can never have just one cigarette again without my addiction. And I still dont feel any sense of permanence; Im in remission, but not cured. And just yesterday, when I was getting my hair cut, I noticed the beauticians pack of cigarettes directly in front of me the very same brand that I used to smoke. I visualized felt-tipp- Youll never understand, huddled on the living room sofa, smoking a lonesome cigarette. How did we ever manage to get along? I said, biting a nail. Six years ago Id married this nonsmoker similar to marrying out of ones religion. No cigarettes in the bedroom, his dogma stated. Late at night hed find me, taking one out of the cellophane wrapper, packing down the tobacco, lighting it up, inhaling deep and watching the rolled paper burn. Oh, I miss the smoke going down into my lungs. THE CURIOUS SHOPPER Anyway to Liquefy Soap? Is there any way to liquefy all the little pieces of bar soap that we use around the house? I have boiled them down with water and added some glycerine, but when this cools it forms into a hard mass. I would like to liquefy it to n use in a container and would appreciate a recipe for doing so. We always try to save in these Inflation times. Margaret Ripley, Claremont, pump-actio- Calif. Although making a liquid out of soap chips seems like a simple thing to do, Mildred Gallik, the director of consumer affairs at the Soap and Detergent Association, states that she has been advised by soap manufacturers that its impossible to reconstitute soap into liquid form under home methods. It just cant be done. Gallik suggests as an alternative to grate the soap scraps and keep them in a jar or decorative bottle in the bathroom. Add a small amount of water and use for rinsing out stockings, lingerie and other bathroom basin items. The grated soap can also be used as a lather for shaving. Another suggestion would be to slit a sponge on one side just enough to fill with soap slivers and use it for bathing. Slivers of soap which can be held in the hand can be stored in ones sewing box to be used like chalk to mark darts and hems. The markings wash out when the garment is laundered. Any further suggestions from readers would be most welcome. READERS' COMMENTS ON RUSTY SOAP PADS In a previous column a reader asked for advice on from keeping S.O.S. Miles I asked had rusting. Laboratories, makers of these pads, and they said to dry the soap-pad- s pad on an absorbent towel, sponge or dish. Since this suggestion was already on the box, I asked for more advice, but they declined even though admittedly many customers had written to them with other suggestions. Anna Johnson, Absocom, N.J.: Put the pad in a jar and cover with boiling water. Let cool and cover with a tight lid. The soap from the pad and the water forms a jellied substance. Just squeeze out and use. Mrs. R.$. Smith, Gulf Broezo, Fla.: I keep mine in a small clay flower pot. Put a plastic lid underneath the pot to catch any drips. The clay absorbs the excess moisture, thus slowing down the formation of rust. Botty Rutter, Tuckorton, N.J.t I save all my soap ends and put them in a short wide can along with half a bar of brown soap and used soap pads and cover OS icii!iiAfidito32IB3.v 1 33233' as c iJJMIBAEIHicgzt ( ia TCEOJKi ro (ST03 C W ' 'tl V A Gif all with water. 9 I ); |