The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1960-07-22
DOWN
TO
EARTH
By
CARLTON
MORRIS
BAD HABITS FLY
OUT THE WINDOW
Editor, The Index
coiesville, N. c.

A friend of mine once told me
that he liked his bad habits and
never intended parting with a
single one of them. At the time
he made the remark, l thought it
was very funny and laughed long
and loud. In fact I thought my
friend was quite wit. Now l have
news for him. Sooner or later he's
going to part with some of his
bad habits. I've parted with nearly
all of mine and it couldn't happen
to nicer guy.
Back in the days of my youth,
l wanted fiercely to be a big man
physically. l was very small for
/ came from a small race of peo-
pei. My dad wouldn't weigh $50
pounds soaking wet and l had an
uncle who never weighed 1870
pounds in his life. With this sort
of a heritage, l developed COM
pick and when l took a job with
an insurance company at the age
of 25 l weighed 140 pounds. Ira
Yelling every day, 1 drank cokes.
ate nabs, drank milk shakes and
put on pounds. Right then I de-
veloped the bad habit of eating
too much of the wrong kind of food.
a fact that almost cost my life
on May % of this year, when l
had a heart attack brought on
largely by overweight.
Back in those years folks would
laughingly remark that l was get
ting fat and proudly / would drink
more milkshakes and eat more nabs
and bigger meals. l weighed on
every set of scales l passed and
proudly watched my weight climb
from 14O to ITS. Then 1 decided
i was big enough as none of my
clothes would fit, but l soon dis
covered something that many peo-
pie learn the hard way. 1t is much
easier to put on than to take off.
Eventually my weight climbed to-
200 pounds and l had at last rea-
hzed my ambition. was a BIG
man.
After the heart trouble I quickly
lost my bad eating habits of the
past 20 years at the insistence of
my doctors and am glad to re-
port that 1 have also lost IA
pounds. And again none Of my
clothes fit.
acquired the bad habit of smok-
ing many years ago and in most
peculiar manner. AS kid l smoked
my share of cornsilk cigarettes,
rabbit tobacco and oak leaves. Aft
er red hot corn silk cigarette, Il
was firmly convinced that l would
never smoke. Then some years
later l was thrown with a camp
full of young fellows and as far
as ! know l was the only lad I'M
a camp of more than 200 that didn't
smoke.
During my stay there of several
months a group of us developed
much skill as bridge players and
every night we would buy a couple
of cigars to keep US company, all
in fun of course. Pretty soon we
got to the point where we wanted
our cigars day and night, and still
later l switched to a pipe which
l smoked for some 20 years. Not
the same pipe all that time of
course, though some of my office
girls in the past have claimed that
my pipe was more than 20 years
old.
On July 5, 1859, suddenly de-
cided l had smoked long enough
and so l gathered up my pipes
and tobacco and dumped them in
my desk where they still remain
to this day. So another of my bad
habits has gone by the board.
Thus, when my friend says he
likes his bad habits and intends to
keep them, l think he is either
ignorant or whistling in the dark;