My wife became the block captain in our local Neighborhood Watch Program. It has been a great way to get acquainted with the neighbors. The program also encourages sharing of phone numbers. It has been a good experience for us.

John

Personnaly I don't use drugs or smoke but I do drink beer in moderation, beer is worlds oldest alcoholic beverage and if drunk in moderetion 2 -3 a day it's actually very good and healthy for you I rather get my B vitamins from beer then swallow some artificial pill <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Tirlet? Hey! We don't all sound like Tony Danza up here...well okay, maybe we do... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Now, I have to go to the drugga store to get some filum for my camera...

One of Einstein's lesser known theories is the Theory of Consonant Relativity. There are a finite number of consonants for use in the spoken English language. So every time someone in MA says they're "driving their cah" someone in TX says they're "drinking a soder".

Words, too. In many bilingual hispanic cultures, you don't get out of the car, you get off the car.

I have been living in a flat, right near Paris, for the last 16 years.
You don't see your neighbours if you don't want to !
Going to work early, coming back late, you almost never get to see them.
So I knew a few faces, not always the attached names, and anyway didn't know on which floor they lived !
3 years ago, I decided to join the national campaign "Immeubles en fête" (= buildings celebration or more exactly neighbours' celebration).
This year, we had our third "fiesta" on may, 31st, and half of the flats in my building were represented : one familly come with the main dish, another comes with wine, or dessert a.s.o. ; everyone brings something.

Now I know at least half of my neighbours and I have solved the problem I had with my cat when obliged to leave for a few days : one familly has also cats and dogs and is always happy to act as a catty sitter for my pet...

This "Neighbours' celebration" idea has been launched in 1999 by a frenchman living in Paris and sad not to have more relationship with his neighbours.
He organised a small "fiesta" within his building, next within the city block, then get in touch with municipalities and his idea gained more and more popularity.
in 2005, the idea has been promoted in a dozen european capitals and an estimated 4,000,000 people participated.

Well, there ya go.

My doctor back home enjoys fine cigars up at elk camp every year. He will have one on other special occasions too. He always shares with the rest of us, and his tastes in fine tobacco are excellent. He agreed that an occasional smoke won't do any more to you than the background pollution level will. Did I mention he's also an former Navy Seal? He's 63 and can still beat my butt going up the hills. He knows as much about taking you apart as he does about putting you together. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Anyways, I think the point is nothing in excess. A little nip on the bottle once in a while, or a good stogie, or a nice juicy steak with all the trimmings just ain't gonna make the end that much sooner or worse. It is when our indulgences become habitual and turn into vices that we start having problems, regardless what our knack may have initially been.

I quit smoking cigarettes 14 years ago. At one point I was up to three packs a day. One day my 3 year old wanted to climb up in my recliner with me and snuggle, but I was smoking a cigarette at the time and told her she couldn't. That was the last cigarette I smoked since then, although I've puffed a pipe for a few weeks here and had an occasional cigar with my pals. You can have all the fancy gimmicks and chew a bucket of gum. You won't quit smoking until you make the decision in your mind to quit, and then you won't need a crutch to do it. To this day, I crave a cigaretter as bad as the day I quit, and everytime I am around smokers I want to light up again. I don't because I made the decision that I had smoked my last cigarette habitually, and I don't have need to ever smoke another. The pipe was a pacifier test for this place. It didn't work, so I pitched it after about 4 weeks of smoking maybe a pipeful every other day (I've never been able to inhale pipe smoke, so just puffing on it didn't do anything for me).

What was the topic of this thread again? I fogot...