Yabba dabba doo
I really lost focus on limiting my cigarettes over the holiday weekend. We’re remodeling the kitchen, all the kids came over for dinner Sunday and we were slammed with that tsunami of humidity. (Our circa 1926 house has hot-water heat and no central air.) In general, life was chaotic and tiring. I’ll need to prepare for distractions like these.
I pulled out an old photo to show the kids Sunday. It’s of my grandparents and their four children–taken in about 1939. They were a remarkably beautiful family. The photo inspired a conversation about my grandparents and brought back memories of spending Friday nights at their house in the country with my cousin, Rhonda.
After baths, Ronnie and I would plop on the floor in front of the television to watch the “Flintstones.” This was a double treat for me because television time was restricted at home and I loved the “Flintstones”–that “modern Stone Age family…down in Bedrock…a place right out of history.” In fact, I was so fascinated with the “Stone Age” cars and gadgets that my dad gave me a “Flintstones” action set for Christmas.
The “Flintstones” show was sponsored by Winston cigarettes from 1960 to 1962. I still remember the jingle,“Winstons taste good like a cigarette should.” (Dave Barry theorizes that our memory falters as we age because our brains are full of junk like the Winston jingle.)
What’s even weirder than a cigarette company sponsoring a television cartoon is that the cartoon characters actually smoked! Yes, Fred, Barney, Wilma and Betty puffed away on Winstons (streaming video).
It’s tragic that all four people who supplied voices for these characters–Jean Vander Pyl, Bea Benaderet, Mel Blanc and Alan Reed–died of smoking-related diseases.
I’m glad our culture has changed and that my grandkids aren’t watching their favorite cartoon characters smoke.
Waiting for my cessation aids to be approved so I can advance to the next stage of my quit journey. I’m still ready to take the big step.
