Dear Smoker...

Last week I was sitting in the underground pick-up place at the airport, waiting for my husband who'd gone to get the car to come get me. I was enjoying the beautiful weather, refreshing breeze, and the glory of sitting outside away from most of the traffic and listening to the roar of planes taking off. And playing Sudoku.

You walked up and sat down next to me, looking as ordinary as I, seeming to enjoy the weather as well while waiting for the bus or your ride or whatever it is that you were waiting for. Suddenly, without warning AND WITHOUT EVEN ASKING, you whip out a cigarette, light up, and start puffing away as if you were the only person within a 30 yard radius.

So I got up, dragged all 4 of my bags (briefcase,purse, and 2 roller bags) far enough away to where I couldn't smell you - literally dragging a bag b/c I couldn't carry/roll everything. There was no bench. I sat on the concrete surrounded by bird poop and bugs.

Thank you for being so selfish that you didn't even ask if I minded. Let's not forget that I was there for a full 5 minutes before you arrived. Let's not forget that the air was made sans smoke to begin with. Let's not forget that smoking is actually harmful to others. Let's not forget that NOT EVERYONE SMOKES!!!

I think this is what bothers me most about "tolerance" - you expect me to let you do your thing. And I will. I didn't start shouting or quoting health studies. But why don't you show some respect and tolerance towards the rest of us and let us do our thing. In this case they CANNOT coexist. I don't appreciate you ruining the wonderful outdoors that I was enjoying at the moment. You are selfish and I did not enjoy being subjected to your nasty smoke.

Too bad you'll obviously never understand,
the person whose 10-minute wait was rudely interrupted by your smoking last week