Columns

Some 38 years ago I worked on Main Street at a clothing store called Cunningham’s.  You wouldn’t know it now, but Cunningham’s was a family-run business that operated for almost 150 years in Springfield.  
It was the anchor of all commerce in downtown Springfield, and probably hit its peak in the 1940s.  It was located right across from the present-day Springfield State Bank.  The last Cunningham, Clifton, died a few years ago, and the store sits empty today.

“All that had been used to make it a dwelling place, by my folks on back, by Grover and me… all the memories of all the lives that had made it and held it together, all would come apart and be gone as if it never was.”
from Sold, a short story by Wendell Berry

The purpose is to get people to quit. Simple as that.
The Federal Drug Administration recently announced that beginning September 2012, it will require larger, more prominent health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States.
The changes will be the first in more than 25 years and are “a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking,” according to the FDA.

All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore

Lyrics to “Burning Bridges”

When I was young, I was always a loner.