No Smoking, Please

I just found out that Tim Bentley, my former boss at Business to Business, magazine in Atlanta, died. He was 55.

He apparently had been sick a long time with breathing and pulmonary problems brought on by years of smoking.

Tim was funny and crabby, an old-school journalist with plenty of stories to tell about his time rolling with politicians and the like. I am sad that he is gone, and that he got so sick.

When I first started working with him, he would chew nicotine gum all day. But still go for smoke breaks. "I thought your were trying to quit," I said, since he was chewing the gum.

"I chew the gum because I can't smoke at my desk," he said.

I don't want to be a hypocrite, because I have smoked a few cigarettes myself. But if you are a smoker, please try and quit. And if you don't smoke, don't start.

Because I am sure you are funny and crabby, with plenty of stories still left to tell.