Now is Then… PolishNick79 – HOF Speech

As many could relate, there are certain days in my life that will go down in infamy. They include graduating from high school and college, the night I proposed to my wife, our wedding, the birth of my three children, when I started chewing and when I quit chewing. So, why does the day I started chewing and the day I quit chewing get to be included with such important memories as weddings and births…. because my fellow Americans, it has and always will be a very significant part of who I am. I have worked so hard to get to where I am today, keeping my marriage together and raising three beautiful children, but I also worked so hard to keep my addiction with nicotine in the shadows and going strong. All of that ended at 4:30 pm on January 18th, 2017. My wife and I were in the midst of the biggest fight of our marriage and it was time. It was time not just for me, but for my wife, my kids, and everyone in my life. It was time for a new beginning.

My days of ninja dipping are over…I have taken my hood off, put away my sword and throwing knives, and have walked into the light to admit my addiction. However, I might keep my nun-chucks just in case I need to beat down a rabid raccoon or rabbit in my neighborhood. I cannot gain back all the minutes, hours, and days I wasted trying to hid my addiction, but I will not lose any more to the infamous nic bitch.

My quit was, is, and never will be just about me…My quit starts with me, but is for everyone, myself, my wife, my kids, my family, and friends. My quit is also for a bunch of strangers whom I have never met, barely know some of their faces, but have built a bond with these strangers that have helped me when I needed it the most. What a simple concept that you post a promise to these strangers in every nook and cranny in the country and feel so bonded to these strangers that you don’t want to break this promise. Sure, you can slither away in the darkness and not post roll, but holy hell would you have all your fellow members of your quit group crawling over your ass and if you caved….well that is an experience I am glad I never had to go through.

So simple…but so effective….post roll for today, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, but for today.
It reminds of the scene in Spaceballs…When will then be now? Now! Because we only quit for a second, minute, and hour since every second we quit is not now….it’s then. “Go back to then…but it is now.” “We missed it…Why? Because it is then.” As the seconds, minutes, and hours tick by our quit grows stronger and deeper. Quit for just today and your HOF, and every additional floor will be here now before you know it.

Spaceballs – Now is Then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5drjr9PmTMA

April – I know I was never an extremely active poster like some of you, but I read just about every post someone added to the group. That is the beauty of KTC…there is something on the site for everyone and the more you need the more there is. Throughout my quit, some days I needed to pack a fat lip of KTC, and other days I needed just a pinch. But no matter what, come rain, sun, cold, or snow my fellow KTC quitters were there for me…and I was there for them.

I can honestly, without a doubt say that without KTC, I would have be back on the nic wagon, riding happily along while my teeth fell out and worse things were happening…

To all the underdogs of April 2017 and the vets…thank you…thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. For today I quit with you!

And lastly, for new quitters….don’t start tomorrow, start today because now is then.

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member polishnick79