Got Vice? Revisiting the BGIM vaults

This post was originally written July 25, 2010; I will be digging through the BGIM vaults for the next week as I attempt to wrap up summer. With five plus years of blog posts, I can’t imagine there are more than a handful of people who are familiar with my older posts. This space used too have a very different feel, so enjoy! 

Lately when I am not bemoaning all the shit going down in my life or working hard to stay cool. I have noticed that it’s no longer acceptable to have bad habits or vices. One especially does not wish to let the world know they have any vices if they are a parent because good gravy; parents must be perfect. We must model exemplary behavior lest our progeny be doomed to a lifetime of good psychotropics and an even better therapist.

So what brought this on you ask? Well yesterday when I was waking up and checking in on some of my good time-wasting sites online, the issue was raised of how many people would admit to eating fast food on a regular basis?  I actually saw someone say that fast food is so reviled that people would sooner admit to smoking rather than admitting the Colonel calls out their name with some crispy chicken, or even better,  the smells at McDonald’s occasionally lures them in. Come on you know the fries smell good. I swear every time I go past a McD’s for a moment I think french fries!

Now it would have been easy for me to dismiss this as internet rambling until I thought about my personal circle of friends and at this point I feel I must admit that yes I do have a vice. I am an on again, off again smoker. I quit for some years, life gets rough, I light up again. Most people until now have no idea that I battle the butts, because I don’t smoke around others for the most part and that includes, my house, car. at the job. you get the picture. By virtue of the fact that everyone gives smokers the stank eye keeps me in line. And before anyone feels compelled to lecture me, save it, my mother died of lung cancer. I know what can happen if I don’t get a hold of this vice. On the other hand I am human and humans are weak no matter what we think, we all have our weaknesses that we cannot avoid.  For some people its gambling, food, drugs, shopping, even love one of the purest of emotions can be stretched to vice if its excessive. I am a big fan of life in moderation.

So now that I have outed myself completely and fully (believe I have hinted as this in the past) lets talk about the fact that in my immediate circle of real life peeps just in Maine, I have about 4-5 who are also undercover smokers. Except for one person, they are more undercover than me, to the point their partners don’t even know they occasionally hit the butts. One of these folks is 50. I don’t know about you but why the hell at 50 is one hiding any habits? Why? Because people look at you like you are crazy if you admit to having a  vice.

By the same token I have been in spaces where admitting that I occasionally feed my kid fast food was met with an icy glaze. Um….I said fast food, not rat poison. Look, some of us have become so damn high and mighty we forget to just be. Seriously, just be in the moment and not feel the need to put value or judgement on people or things.

So what about you? Do you have any vices, habits or weaknesses?