A New Life – Sick of Being a Slave To the Tin

Where to start— My story like so many in the HOF before me is very similar but I’m still going to go through it. I got through high school just fine, oh I would have a dip every once in awhile but it never really did anything for me. Along comes college- for whatever reason, my best friend and I decide to start sharing a tin when we are studying. Starts out at a tin a week between the two of us (wow does that seem so unbelievable to me). I don’t remember exactly when it happened but I distinctly remember when I bought my first tin solo– boy did I think that was something like I had graduated to a new level, which I did of course– a new level of addiction that quickly escalated into a log+ a week and went on for 17 years.

Chewing is amazing– at least to me it was. Boy I loved putting a big old fatty in my lip. Basically my life revolved around it. My thoughts and how I planned my day totally revolved around me and my friend Skoal Mint. All my favorite activities– watching movies, football, baseball, hunting/fishing, driving. You name it, if I wasn’t sleeping or eating I was with my friend. When I wasn’t enjoying his presence, I was thinking boy I can’t wait to get down with this meal and just sit back and enjoy a big ole plug. I would skip breakfast in the morning cause the first thing I did in the morning was brush my teeth, the second thing is I had a nice morning dip, the third thing I did was take a leak. Pathetic!

So why did I quit? I didn’t quit because health reasons or because I feared cancer. Sure I thought about it occasionally but I thought the odds were in my favor and I used the old rationale that “everyone’s has to have at least one vice”. My decision to quit stemmed entirely from disappointment on the direction my life was taking due to my love/addiction to the nic bitch. I’m 36 and single. Oh I love my life and the liberties that come from being single but part of the reason why I haven’t married or been real serious about pursuing a serious relationship was I hated always the familiar arguments on chewing. I was sick and tired of avoiding people namely family mother and nephews and nieces because I didn’t want to have a big ole fatty in. Lastly, the biggest reason why I decided to quit is because I was sick of being a slave to the tin. The fear that would come over me when I couldn’t find where I placed my tin, or I just took the last dip and its 10:00 at night— when am I going to get another one so that I can have my morning dip. The anxiety when at work because of meetings or all day meetings with CEOs when I wouldn’t be able get my fix. I was just sick of it. I just decided to quit and I haven’t tried or wanted to quit for at least 10 years. I’ll say this, that first day I thought I was going to die, I actually went blind for a couple of hours at least in the sense that I couldn’t focus or see straight and my mind felt like it about to explode. Day 2 was a little easier but still wasn’t any picnic but slowly each day got better particularly after Day 3.

100 days and where do I go from here. I won’t lie to you guys– I miss it and I think about it pretty frequently. I think though I miss more of the memory of it and each week(s) it seems like I miss it a little less. The freedom that I’ve attained by being free from the bitch certainly outweigh any fond memories I have of dipping though. All my friends still chew but I know one thing– I will never go back! I am enjoying this freedom too much and I will never forget how big of a slave I was to the tin. I want to thank everyone on this site particularly the veterans and Chewie. This site has been an absolute godsend to me. To actually be surrounded by people who are going through the same thing or have gone through it before was HUGE for me. THANK YOU guys and I look forward to meeting with some of you, maybe at the next get together. Hell, I’ll fly to where ever any of you are if we go to a baseball game. With that having been said, I’m going to sip a little Johnny Walker in celebration and I toast you all.

Tom

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member Turbo