JAYP’s HOF Speech – 10/23/2014

Day 100 has finally arrived for me. 25 years of tobacco use is now 100 days behind me…what a wonderful feeling! I began my habit in grandpas fishing boat at the age of 10. It would be 5 years before I would “seriously” start using smokeless tobacco. I had quit 17 years ago, only to foolishly start 6 months after my quit. But, I learned something then….I was not strong enough to “just take one” and remain quit. I vowed…if I had ever beat the habit again, I would never go back or make the same mistakes. Here I am, day 100 and have no intentions of returning to that habit. Roll call….something I wish I had done. Not to keep myself honest, but because I missed out on meeting “my group”. Maybe the moderator can dump my speech in the appropriate bucket? I didn’t ever do roll call, I just couldn’t figure out how to do it I guess.

Where should I begin with this speech? I guess first and foremost I would like to thank the owners for making this wonderful site for people looking to quit chewing tobacco. I accidentally stumbled upon this site and glad I did. The folks here made me feel welcome when they could of just ignored me commenting on their site. I assume Chewie is the moderator and he was the first that reached out to me and congratulated me on day 2 with no tobacco. I want to personally thank him. You guys running this site might not understand the power of just doing something little like that…it made me feel welcomed here.

Two, I would like to thank all the research that goes into all the fake herbal chews on this site. Years ago, when I tried quitting (before the internet was born, mid 90’s), there weren’t many alternatives available. Thanks to this website, I have been introduced to several, very good, alternatives, ones that supplement that tobacco void just fine. I’ve even wrote a couple reviews on some of them, more to come!!

Three, I appreciated the information available on “what expect when quitting”. The awful brain Fog and Anxiety I dealt with for the first 30-40 days, was expected. It helped knowing this was all normal…AND as mentioned, it DID pass!! I won’t miss those days!!!

I guess what’s gotten me through these 100 days the most was posting, commenting and interacting with others, like me, that we’re dropping by and commenting. Just like Chewie did to me, I paid it forward to the newbies trying to find a spot. There were several of them too. Many only posted once, I assumed they just couldn’t commit to the quit yet. Others, would come and go. 2 in particular I met were a member that goes by Deepy and another named Jeff. Those 2 have been nipping at my heels, they are right behind me pushing, now it’s time for me to root for them on this first floor. They will surely make it here and beyond. Both seem pissed at the tobacco and take pride of where they are at. I want to also mention one other newbie who has been posting, Rick. He’s definitely got the will to make it here to the first floor. I will continue working with him as well. Well, this is turning into a novel here, but I have plenty to be thankful for and to. Every single quitter on this site is a dam WARRIOR! It takes a tough, tough person to stay quit, I appreciate all the inspiration each of your stories provides. Keep up the fight and we’ll be talking to you all again very soon! – JP Proud Member of The 100 Club

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