Friday, June 8, 2007

The Other-Handed Smoker

There are several people at work that smoke. I have stood outside while they were smoking and watched them go through the same routines every day. Some take out the cigarette and tap it on the box. Some flip over a certain cigarette in every new pack. They all hold the cigarette exactly the same every time and with exactly the same hand.

I wonder what would happen if they were to switch hands one day. Would they not be able to find their mouths? Would they end up sticking the cigarette up their nose or in their ear? Would the changing of this routine be completely catastrophic to their ability to smoke a cigarette with any kind of dignity?

Would it be like when I hurt my hand? I had a hard time trying to do even the simplest things like brushing my teeth. The motion was so foreign to my hand that I found myself holding my hand still and just moving my head. I finally got so frustrated with that that I ended up laying the toothbrush on the sink and just moving my teeth back and forth over it. I wonder if switching smoking hands is kind of like that.

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