Please add my 62,070 unsmoked cigarettes to the bonfire!! Thought I wouldn't be able to make it here in time tonight, but so happy to celebrate so many successful quits!! I read someone say they were an elder because they had more than 365 days but they didn't feel like an elder. When you've made it over a year quit you have LOTS of wisdom to share with the newcomers!!!!! Congrats to everyone contributing tonight, job well done Pir8fan and Shawn, great bonfire!!!
Whew! Flew back to DC as fast as I could (not that I actually have any control over that!) from...from...uh...hold on a sec...oh, from Chicago, Indianapolis (FINALLY got a layover there now that Brenda M has come back to DC--sheesh!), Denver, LaGuardia NYC, Houston, so I could get to the bonfire with all you guys! I made it! I almost NEVER get to come to one of these burnings, so I'm excited!
I'm dumping my 30,300 unsmoked cigarettes into the bonfire! I thought about borrowing one of those trucks you guys have been using. But I decided to lug those life-sucking poisonous, dried-up Death Sticks over to the bonfire, armful by armful. I'm throwing them into the fire, one pack at a time. It's going to take a long while...and with every pack I toss into the flames, I'm going to be smiling and thanking my smarter self for the best decision I ever made for my own health and well-being.
Wow, this is a lot of work, carrying all these packs of cigarettes to the fire! Tommy, pour me a margarita, PLEASE!
And, Shawn, you are absolutely AMAZING. I'm staggered by the the amount of love and work you put into this site for all of us. I wish I was as cool as you are. XXXOOO to you, Shawn. Thank you so much...
Thanks Shawn and Tommy for the great part and I'll have one of everything please. I had loaded up my unsmoked nasty smokes and am adding 26.707 to the first.
My internet has been on and off (mostly off) today so if I don't get back here I wish everyone a wonderful 4th of July. LET FREEDOM RING!
In The Netherlands, 8,301 American soldiers are buried! They paid the ultimate price for Freedom in Operation Market Garden, an effort to free The Netherlands, during the fall of 1944! 8,301 Dutch families have each adopted one of these soldiers! They tend the graves, and many have poitraits of their soldier pominently displayed in their homes!
On this 4th of July, let us pause to remember that Freedom is nor Free, and salute the many members of our armed forces who have paid the price of the Freedom that we enjoy today! Let us neither forget how dear the cost, nor forsake that which we have been given!
(Nancy: I need to return your travel mug that you put the lilacs in when I dropped you off after Nashville. That's a good enough reason to drive up to Baltimore for an afternoon, isn't it?)
(Tommy, I need to return your pirate hankerchief you gave me in Nashville when I cried because you guys gave me a card congratulating me on my engagement. That's a good enough reason to fly down to Naples, isn't it? Don't worry; I laundered it!)
Golly, all these packs of cigarettes are heavy to lug over to the fire. I guess I could use a wheelbarrow. Did anyone bring a wheelbarrow to this party?
What a great party tonight, everyone! I'm so stuffed full of cookout goodies and shrimp, and s'mores and cake, all I can do is light a sparkler so I can see to waddle my way back up the hill to the house. Hahaha!
GOODNIGHT, EXERS!!!!
And remember: You're free to choose, so choose to be free!
You know, Shawn, that cowboy was cute...but at the parties that Teddy, Jordan and I threw while we were in NML, we always had PIRATES. Now, of course, TOMMY is the best pirate EVER EVER EVER, no question! But are there any other pirates that might come to the bonfire?
I have now stopped smoking for 4 years, 11 months, 6 days, 6 hours, 53 minutes, 22 seconds. That translates into 62,940 cigarettes NOT smoked, for a savings of $12,588.01! At 5 minutes per cigarette I have increased my life expectancy by 7 months, 1 day, 13 hours, 14 seconds. Woo Hoo and congrats to all quitters here and everywhere!
I had to delete my first post because somewhere between the calculator and the keyboard I got the number wrong. I have been quit for 185 days and used to smoke 30 a day -- grand total is 5,550 cigarettes not smoked. Love it!! Throw those nasty things into that bonfire for sure!!
hello everyone Ive been eating and drinking with you all.thanks its been alot of fun and i hope you dont mind because my quit date isnt till monday. Next year ill have a cart load of em to throw in. Happy 4th and congrats to all!!!
I posted and now I don't see it ! so here I go again !
Happy 4th everyone ! We can celebrate ou beautiful country and our freedom and now our freedom from the addiction to cigarettes ! Yay for us !
I have 146 days od freedom and at a pack a day and sometimes more I have 2,920 unsmoked cigs to add to the bonfire !
Thanks for all the delicious food and drinks everyone I wish i could have brought something !
Glad to be an American today and always I thank God for our freedom and for those who have given there lives to keep us free! I also thank all who have served and are serving now !
I am 51 yrs old and live in the Greater Cleveland area. I started smoking at a young age. I think it was more peer pressure at that time and just a few cigarettes a day until i became "LEGAL" to smoke. I then started smoking a pack or more a day, using stress as my excuse to smoke more. In reality, I realized after i quit smoking that there is no excuses for smoking. I am approaching 4 yrs next month, but I still have to work to protect my quit. I am here on Ex faithfully helping others and in return helps me. We call it here on Ex "Collateral Kindness" here is a link to my blog, 1 yr later that explained my trials in the the beginning of my quit.
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/ShawnP-blog/2013/03/14/one-year-later
