Illustration Friday "Impossibility"

Some people think that giving up smoking is an 'impossibility'. I've never tried it myself, but through my life, I've watched many people I love struggling with the habit. My father was a heavy smoker, perhaps that's why I never tried it – the smell of stale tobacco on his clothing, the yellow teeth, and his stained fingers was enough to keep me from trying it. He was in the Royal Marines during World War II and was stationed for a time in Palestine. Most of the soldiers there were smokers, my dad amongst them. Standing guard duty at night time then had its own special perils if you were a smoker. Enemy snipers used to target the glowing red end of a cigarette as the smoker dragged on it. The guards quickly learned how to avoid making themselves a target by turning their cigarettes back to front so the glowing end remained hidden in the cupped palm of their hand. The one enduring memory I have of my dad is seeing him squatting on his haunches at the side of a newly dug veggie patch, puffing on his back to front cigarette, staring off into space. Maybe he was remembering all those nights he spent on guard duty in Palestine…