Reply #295: I just returned from a trip to Russia and the Baltics.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

The only SUVs I saw were government or transportation vehicles. In general there were far fewer cars and people rely heavily on train and bus and tram travel. And good old walking. My Latvian aunt told me that when she visited the USA she thought to herself that we would drive to the bathroom if that was possible. But I think as gas prices rise, we will be forced to consider more and better mass transit, with plain old walking involved on either end of the transit. And then we will see some of our weight disappearing as well. Can't be all bad.

On my trip, I roomed with a friend who is a smoker. I live with a smoker and was a smoker myself. I brought candles, not for the smoke but for the stale hotel room smells. My friend asked me not to burn the candles because she had allergies and the smell bothered her. But the smell of a constant burning cigarette didn't seem to bother her allergies at all. I recognized myself when she was saying these things, because I used to be very defensive about my rights as a smoker. Now I just choose not to smoke because I have more energy and air when I don't. I was a nurse for thirty years and saw as many non smokers die from cancer as smokers and I really saw a greater connection to genetics. But if holding a cigarette was cool for a teen in the 60's, yellow teeth, bad breath, stinky hair and clothes and lip wrinkles is uncool for a lady in her 60's.