Mirvin’s HOF Speech

Before I write my history let me just say: I do not blame the evil tobacco company, I do not blame my smoking parents, I do not blame the store I used to buy snuff from, and I do not blame the peers who pressured me in the beginning. I blame myself. I was the weak one. Let me rephrase that … I AM the weak one. I need this website. Special thanks to whoever began this site and thanks to those of my group. I admit that I am weak and couldn’t have done this without you. If you care for my history, continue reading.

I have saved up my Hall of Fame speech until the one year anniversary.

I had my first taste of wad tobacco when I was 12. The stonemason working on my parent’s house got a kick out of watching me immediately spit it out. Didn’t touch it again until a friend offered it a few years later during a neighborhood sandlot football game (well, I live in the country so that was 5 on 5). Laughed at how dizzy it made us feel. I threw up after the game, but that only added to the humor. This time though, I got the taste of tobacco. Being in the country the local convenience store had no problem selling to a 14 year old. So began my journey. Not a lot at first but by 16, I’m hooked. By 18, I don’t even need to spit anymore. Could sit in class and chew. In my 20s I had promised myself that I would quit when I was 35 or after my molar (#30) fell out. Gum had pulled back exposing the root. Oddly, I still have it. Go figure.

I attempted quitting only once when I was in my 30s, after the kids were born. Softball season came around and I figured wad tobacco, since I wasn’t swallowing, wouldn’t get me hooked again on snuff. So after 6 months of being quit, I was proven wrong.

For no particular reason, January 5, 2015 (Monday after the New Year) I quit. 53 years old. Although I don’t contribute much to this site, other than posting roll, I acknowledge that this site has kept me true and it deserves the credit.

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