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PART 3
Helene:
"I always find it helpful to enlist the advice of others who have accomplished a difficult goal- so that I may benefit from their experience. Also it is helpful to establish a kind of "support group."

Bruria:
"I see. But not much will happen until you get up one day and say: "What? Me? Smoking? Have I lost it completely? Paying for and pretending to enjoy my own slow suicide? !!!" (Hey, don't hate me for saying that...:))

Helene:
"I could never "hate" you for speaking the truth!"

Bruria:
"Same here. Big relief. :). BTW, I have relatives in Cincinnati! Last visited them in 1973. Tried to call yesterday, to make sure they're not under water...(the flooding of the Ohio River, you know)."

Helene:
"When and if you should visit Cincinnati, please consider making the journey to Cleveland. (Just 4-5 hours away)."

Bruria:
"Sure... But let's see what we can do just an E-mail away... "

While Helene and Bruria were connecting privately, this public message was posted to the women's list by Helene:

TIME TO GET OFF YOUR "BUTTS"!
Mark Your Calendars! May 11th, 1997- MOTHER'S DAY- is the day for the SISTERS IN CYBERSPACE SMOKEOUT!!

To all of you who have shared your success stories regarding quitting smoking- a BIG Thank You! Your support has inspired some of us devoted Puffers to take some positive action towards quitting. But we need your help.

To any of you who would like to join us, please E-Mail me and I will include your name in our support group. We can then check up on one another, offer support, share our frustrations, and collectively throw out our bathroom scales!

For those of you who have already kicked the habit and would like to join us for moral support, we NEED you! Perhaps everyone can take a moment this Mother's Day and throw a bit of much needed "POWER FOCUS" our way. Hope you'll join us!

The first response to the list was:

"Helene, I think I will need a mega-power focus to do this, but I am IN MOTHER'S DAY--NO MORE SMOKING! . . . Somebody have an "in" with a psych institute? Ha, ha, I think I will need to be committed the day after Mothers Day."

Then, a few more "I'm in..." messages were posted.

One said:
"Can't honestly say I'm looking forward to quitting--but I am looking forward to extending my life--and enhancing its quality. I also wish there was a retreat or safe haven where we could all go and be locked up for awhile. Well, maybe we could create a CYBERSPACE..."

Followed by
"puff pufff, [alas] I have to light up to think better..."

And even:
"I wish all of you who are determined to be ex-smokers much luck! I will not be joining you, as my puffing is still mostly pleasure. If only I could find a place to do it in peace!"

Then, another long message came from Helene. She said:

Helene:
"Just a little background for those interested in The Cyberspace Smokeout.

Why do it on Mother's Day- May 11th? Well...

My mom just "took a break" from chemotherapy about 3 weeks ago for lung cancer treatment. She started this treatment last May.(She quit smoking about 15 years ago.) When I got married in 1992, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a lymphectomy followed by radiation and chemotherapy. We thought she was in remission...

For her--my quitting smoking will be the best gift I could give her for Mother's Day. (She also lost her mother to cancer.) In addition, my stepsons have begged me to stop. They present a good argument.

Another member of our group lost her mother and her brother to cancer (both smokers). Her small children constantly ask her to quit. This will be her gift to them. Also, a member of our group was recently hospitalized with a smoking-related heart condition. She tells me this is the result of smoking for 30 years.

For these and other reasons, the "Get Off Your Butts--The First Annual Great American and International Sisters- In-Cyberspace-Smokeout" will be on May 11th 1997- Mother's Day. As the Bee Gees once warbled: "WHETHER YOU'RE A MOTHER--OR WHETHER YOU'RE A LOVER--YOU'RE STAYIN' ALIVE, STAYIN' ALIVE...

At this point, with hundreds of daily messages to sift through, Bruria realized that she no longer remembered how all this had atarted. So she asked Helene:

Bruria
"Hey, do you have the very first message Re: SmoQuit that you posted? If not, what--technically--did you have in mind when you said "support group?"

Helene:
"Support group"--as in a group of people with a common goal who can lean on each other in times of weakness, frustration, pain, and also share the joy of accomplishing a difficult goal--and also those outside that initial group who offer encouragement to those within the group."

Then, wham! Bruria thought to herself... "Support Group. Right! But this should be more than just another fleeting discussion on a mailing-list. This important health issue should be recorded for posterity and inspiration. Now, where better than alongside other "content for healthier lifestyles" --right @ QWL SPACE? Click! Click! Click! Where was my head before?"

MARK THIS PAGE . . . PART 4 . . . SOON!


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