Peter Jennings - A sad way out

[retire@40]

Maybe he lived the life of 100 men.

Maybe he was really enjoying his job.

But I know he didn't go out the way he wanted to go out.

In his last on-air statement, he hinted that he was going to continue doing the news even in the state he was in.* He never said another word on air.*

That's not the way I would want to ER or just R for that matter.* One concept I like about ER is that I do it on MY terms.* I pick the date I want to stop working.

I already live my life like it will all end shortly even though I hope to live another 40 to 50 years, but I wonder what most people would do as they approached their last days if they really knew the exact date.

[JPatrick]

I suppose that is hard to know until you get there, but I hope I can say- -"well that's a bummer-- -I'm sure glad I did this and this and this while I could"

[Texas Proud]

Wow... I thought I posted something on this and now it is not to be seen!!!

My comment was that people like him can retire at anytime... they made millions and are now not working for the money, but something else that drives them... some people can not give up the 'power' they have. He worked because he did not have anything else he wanted to do that he was not already doing!! And he got paid for it...

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire@40 Maybe he lived the life of 100 men. Maybe he was really enjoying his job. But I know he didn't go out the way he wanted to go out. In his last on-air statement, he hinted that he was going to continue doing the news even in the state he was in.* He never said another word on air.* That's not the way I would want to ER or just R for that matter.* One concept I like about ER is that I do it on MY terms.* I pick the date I want to stop working. I already live my life like it will all end shortly even though I hope to live another 40 to 50 years, but I wonder what most people would do as they approached their last days if they really knew the exact date.

Hemingway once wrote (of a friend's passing).........."well, if he had to die at
least he has got it over with". Kind of like Shakespeare's "He that dies this year is quit for the next." I will admit though that it would make a
major
difference if I knew the exact date of my demise.

JG

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Another Canadian smoker dies of lung cancer.

I have only seen one mention in any of the media up here this week that smoking causes lung cancer. It ain't funny.

Ed

Here's something that puzzled me. Jennings said that he'd quit smoking but that "...I was weak, and smoked over 9/11..."

Do you think that he meant that he resumed smoking because he was emotional over 9/11 or that he had to work so hard to cover it?

[retire@40]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Here's something that puzzled me.* Jennings said that he'd quit smoking but that "...I was weak, and smoked over 9/11..." Do you think that he meant that he resumed smoking because he was emotional over 9/11 or that he had to work so hard to cover it?

He resumed smoking after he had quit about 20 years earlier.

It surprised me too considering how smart he was and that he had even done special reports on the dangers of smoking.

Too bad.* He was one of the few good journalists remaining.* I can't think of any reporter that had more of the type of experience and general as well as specific knowledge of the world than Jennings.

I watched him for about 20 years on the evening news.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Do you think that he meant that he resumed smoking because he was emotional over 9/11 or that he had to work so hard to cover it?

I thought it was the combination of the two that caused him to start again. But I never heard anything definitive on the reason.

REW

[MRGALT2U]

Being smart doesn't help much. DW is smart and she works in health care.
Heavy smoker. Yes, it might kill her, or maybe something else will first.
She doesn't try to quit any more. I would be happy if she just cut back some. Fortunately, I can tolerate second hand smoke pretty
well even though I never really smoked cigarettes. Bottom line.....
I know several people who quit for years and started up again.
I also know people in their 80s who have smoked forever, enjoy it and
don't plan to quit. Life is a big crap shoot. Smoking is a bad gamble
and I wouldn't do it,
but I understand why people do.

JG

[laurence]

Second hand smoke is no joke, bro! I hope you make her smoke outside!

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurence Second hand smoke is no joke, bro!* I hope you make her smoke outside!*

We are both very outdoorsy so that helps. But, here is the real irony.
The woman is a fresh air fiend. Sometimes I will find windows wide open with the furnace going full blast. OTOH, I actually enjoy a little second hand smoke. The emphasis is on "a little."

JG

[retire@40]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRGALT2U ...I actually enjoy a little second hand smoke.

Isn't that like saying you enjoy smelling other people's farts?

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire@40 Isn't that like saying you enjoy smelling other people's farts?

I don't think so. Lots of folks enjoy tobacco smoke. Did you forget the smiley face?

JG

[moghopper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRGALT2U I don't think so. Lots of folks enjoy tobacco smoke. Did you forget the smiley face?

I've known a number of people who enjoyed pipe or cigar smoke... but not cigarette smoke.

[JB]

Can't stand any tobacco smoke. However, ganja is sweet. I don't smoke (much) but I still enjoy the scent.

[windsurf]

Jennings made his announcement in April.* I learned my brother (younger) had lung Ca the Monday after my last Friday at work.* My dad died from the same at age 52 25 years ago.* My Dad quit smoking after the Surgeon General's warning in the early 60's.* Apparently, he was near* Pacific A-bomb testing on a Navy ship (and the Marshall Islands) after Hiro/Nagasaki.* He worked in and around coke ovens and steel mills when there were such things in the Midwest in the 50's and 60's as a railroad fireman and engineer.* (The firemen weren't firefighters but rather the "co-pilot" of the locomotive named for the job of shoveling coal into the boilers of the steam engines prior to diesels.* He started with steam and ended with diesel).* *My bother was told (somewhat abruptly and rudely) by his oncologist that he should go right to hospice care rather than think about any treatment.* This upset his family.* As I had spent the good years of my life defending the med profession (including a few late diagnosed lung ca cases), I knew the doc was right but would not excuse the son of a bitch or his profession for the lack of commmon sense manners and civility.* He unerwent radiation to the head to slow down the brain mets and lost his hair but was spared the indignity of losing his sight and mind while the lung ca choked him down.* He had worked in the mills until they abruptly closed in these parts in the late 70's.* It was much cheaper to make steel in countries without environmental constraints.* Too late for my Dad and brother as the "constraints" were just being implemented.* Example: when a new hire, my brother would have to walk on top of the coke ovens (a coal baking process yielding lots of interesting fumes and vapors) wearing wooden clogs on his shoes so the rubber soles wouldn't melt.* After the mills closed, he worked a variety of jobs in the former "steel valley" of our birth that paid a fraction of the good union wages that allowed me to get through school not really appreciating a difference between myself and white collar sons and daughters.* Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, he did not pay for his own medical insurance b/c he needed the dollars in his check to pay for heat, food, gas and stuff for the kids and grandkids.* These jobs involved exposure to benzene and other carcinogens.* Why did he get lung Ca??* He didn't last as long as Jennings (by a couple of weeks) but apparently the best treatment money could buy did not make a difference with this Mf disease.*

[Martha]

What a sad story Windsurf. No one should be an oncologist unless they have empathy for their patients. I am so sorry you lost your brother and father when they were so young.

My best friend found out she had breast cancer on a cell phone call from the doctor who did the biopsy. He called her several weeks after the biopsy, fumbled around with her file while he was on the phone trying to figure out who he was talking to and said, "oh, you have cancer" and got off the phone as fast as he could. My friend was left standing there, at work on a job site, not knowing what the hell to do next.

[MRGALT2U]

Quote:

Originally Posted by windsurf Jennings made his announcement in April.* I learned my brother (younger) had lung Ca the Monday after my last Friday at work.* My dad died from the same at age 52 25 years ago.* My Dad quit smoking after the Surgeon General's warning in the early 60's.* Apparently, he was near* Pacific A-bomb testing on a Navy ship just pre Hiro/Nagasaki.* He worked in and around coke ovens and steel mills when there were such things in the Midwest in the 50's and 60's as a railroad fireman and engineer.* (The firemen weren't firefighters but rather the "co-pilot" of the locomotive named for the job of shoveling coal into the boilers of the steam engines prior to diesels.* He started with steam and ended with diesel).* *My bother was told (somewhat abruptly and rudely) by his oncologist that he should go right to hospice care rather than think about any treatment.* This upset his family.* As I had spent the good years of my life defending the med profession (including a few late diagnosed lung ca cases), I knew the doc was right but would not excuse the son of a bitch or his profession for the lack of commmon sense manners and civility.* He unerwent radiation to the head to slow down the brain mets and lost his hair but was spared the indignity of losing his sight and mind while the lung ca choked him down.* He had worked in the mills until they abruptly closed in these parts in the late 70's.* It was much cheaper to make steel in countries without environmental constraints.* Too late for my Dad and brother as the "constraints" were just being implemented.* Example: when a new hire, my brother would have to walk on top of the coke ovens (a coal baking process yielding lots of interesting fumes and vapors) wearing wooden clogs on his shoes so the bubber soles wouldn't melt.* after the mills closed, he worked a variety of jobs in the fromer "steel valley" of our birth that paid a fraction of the good union wages that allowed me to get through school not really appreciating a difference between myself and white collar sons and daughters.* Unbeknownst to the rest of the family, he did not pay for his own medical insurance b/c he needed the dollars in his check to pay for heat, food, gas and stuff for the kids and grandkids.* These jobs involved exposure to benzene and other carcinogens.* Why did he get lung Ca??* He didn't last as long as Jennings (by a couple of weeks) but apparently the best treatment money could buy did not make a difference with this Mf disease.*

I feel your pain man. I have lost relatives, friends, classmates, etc
to cancer. I have smoked (not cigarettes), lived with smokers,
worked around asbestos, gotten too much sun (natural and
in tanning booths). And ( this has nothing to do with cancer)
I have ridden motorcycles many thousands of miles. Life is risky.
We are all going to die. Make the most of your time. No one knows
how much you have left.

JG

[SLC Tortfeasor]

This is a brutal thread. I feel for all who have been been hit by the pain of cancer, in one way or another.

[SteveR]

I quit smoking during the hardest months of my life and I have resolved to never go back. The desire to smoke never goes away once you are addicted so each day is still a battle even after years of being smoke free. Yes, it does get easier but for some people, the urge never leaves.

I lost several family members to heart disease due to bad genes, bad eating habits and smoking. I will most likely get heart disease and may die from it unless I am killed first by a jealous husband while I'm climbing out the window at age 95.

Eat right, get plenty of exercise, don't smoke, don't drink......die anyway. We all have to die of something but cancer sucks. At least a heart attack is faster.