Breath

There are days when I almost envy smokers.

Air quality laws force smokers to take their cigarettes and other such things outside and away from buildings. I suppose it's a way to regulate respect for others' health, which is good (because those who don't smoke don't have to be subjected to it anyway) and bad (because regulated respect is not real respect and reduces the personal senses of responsibility and community that are so rapidly fading in this world).

At the same time, those who smoke seem to spend more time outside during a normal day than those who don't. I don't bother going outside during my work breaks, and I don't step out of my apartment for ten minutes a dozen times on my days off (the days off I stay home, that is). I could do those things, but I have no reason to. Smokers do have a reason to go outside frequently, even if it's only for a few minutes at a time. They can enjoy the scenery--watch the birds fly by, watch the clouds drift along, observe the changes in weather and seasons, and even enjoy some fresh air (between drags on their cigarettes) instead of the stale, recycled, climate-controlled atmosphere indoors.

I wonder if the smokers see it the way I see it.