My grandfather is 94 years old and starting to come full circle. His health isn't poor but it's not great and he takes a lot of different medicines. He's usually in good spirits, but overall is tired from a long life and his mental capacity isn't what it once was. That said...

The other night at dinner the waitress asked him what he wanted, and told her " a pack of Chesterfields." Shortly thereafter at another dinner setting, we were finishing up and my aunt Jan asked him, "can I get anything else for you deddy?" He thought about for a couple seconds and said, "I want a cigarette." She explained to him that he hadn't smoked since the 60s and that he wasn't going to get a cigarette.

Some of the things he says are off the wall and pretty funny, and we chalk it up to old age. That said...

I think he really and truly wants a cigarette in the here and now. So should I give him one? And what would you do?

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 3:37 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2013 3:32:22 PM

I was imagining something like this: http://www.whitehands.jp/e.html

6/13/2013 3:33:41 PM

...get him one?

^ .jp?


NOPE

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

6/13/2013 3:33:56 PM

cddweller

6/13/2013 3:35:09 PM

Gramps just wants to

6/13/2013 3:35:09 PM

^4. That's pretty cool. He'd probably love that. Haha

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 3:35 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2013 3:35:35 PM

give the man a cig. it's been 50 years since he last smoked, how much difference can it make at 94?

6/13/2013 3:39:47 PM

I mean...

I'd feel terrible if something happened on account of it. What are the odds?

6/13/2013 3:39:57 PM

Quote :

" give the man a cig. it's been 50 years since he last smoked, how much difference can it make at 94?"

This was my initial inclination but I'm on the fence about it.

6/13/2013 3:41:44 PM

6/13/2013 3:44:18 PM

What the hell is the debate? He's 94 fucking years old. Give him all the cigarettes he wants.

6/13/2013 5:09:25 PM

the theory is that he's too old, stupid and crazy to know what's good for him

just as a little kid is too young, stupid and crazy to know what's good for him

not saying I agree, but I think that's the underlying logic

plus he's crippled and helpless, so you can deny him cigarettes. hell, lots of wives would probably deny their husbands cigarettes if it lay within their power.

6/13/2013 5:16:03 PM

for fucks sake, hes 94, let him have whatever he wants, dude ain't long for this world

6/13/2013 5:18:31 PM

^yes

A cigarette isn't going to kill him.

6/13/2013 8:01:23 PM

Dude is 94. Give him what ever the hell he wants or thinks he wants.

6/13/2013 8:07:37 PM

It's like Little Miss Sunshine

if the old man wants to go out bumping heroin, that's his prerogative

give him a damn smoke

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 8:09 PM. Reason : RESPECT YOUR ELDERS.]

6/13/2013 8:09:25 PM

Quote :

"Dude is 94. Give him what ever the hell he wants or thinks he wants."

This.

Quote :

"A cigarette isn't going to kill him."

And if it does, that's okay, too.

6/13/2013 8:22:33 PM

Your grandad isn't Nelson Mandela, by any chance, is he?

6/13/2013 8:29:43 PM

I can already imagine the parody threads that will probably be NSFW

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 8:35 PM. Reason : f]

6/13/2013 8:35:16 PM

Use lots of lube.

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 8:40 PM. Reason : also lemonparty]

6/13/2013 8:39:27 PM

TRUE STORY:

My wife's grandmother was 80-something years old or so otherwise had a good life until the stroke(s) took a lot of her mental acuity away. She declined pretty fast an the last year or two, needed assistance, and wound up dying in the hospital after a long sickness.

she kept trying to sneak cigarettes and kept getting blocked. And that's all she ever asked for, really. But couldn't have them. At the very end, as she died, her last words were "I sure wish I had a cigarette."

Her last words. How sad, huh? She couldn't really focus on anything else and seemed really sad. teh only thing that perked her up was the thought of a cigarette. if she had a cigarette, she probably (IMO) would have been able to enjoy family visits more.

Give the old man his cigarette. Give him a pack. Buy him a goddamned carton and let him smoke to his heart's content. He'll be happy and probably more inclined to converse with his family.

What is the reason your family is denying him? to keep him healthy? that's absurd. he's 94 years old. you're not going to be shortening his life.

If he were my g-pa, i'd go so far as to defy the will of the rest of the family and sneak them to him my damn self. And I hope someone would do that for me.

(Disclaimer: I smoked for over 20 years. (started when i was 12). I have quit for 6 years. I'm one of those annoying ex-smokers who now want to ban cigarettes from all public places

[Edited on June 13, 2013 at 8:58 PM. Reason : chances are, after 50 years the cigarette will be gross to him anyhow and he'll throw it out halfway]

6/13/2013 8:53:12 PM

^

respect your elders. imagine yourself in that position, old as shit, being treated like a baby, when all you want is a steak/cigarette/beer. we go and throw old people in nursing homes as they waste away, and something so simple could make his last days much better.

as long as he isn't asking for a glock or some 15 year old pussy, get him what he wants. hell, get him that stuff too.

6/13/2013 9:07:16 PM

Quote :

"the theory is that he's too old, stupid and crazy to know what's good for him"

Well duh, I mean, I get the theory.

What we're saying is that why the fuck would anyone care what's good for him?

6/13/2013 9:19:55 PM

I dunno. I guess they're just thinking "Cigarettes are bad, mmkay?" and resting on that.

6/13/2013 9:29:52 PM

What fun is old age unless you can live a little? I mean, if you've been stuck on this mudball for 94 years, chances are you've damn near had enough, and really, what the hell is a couple of smokes gonna do to him? Make him cough a bit? Make him stink? Whoopty shit. Add five more minutes to 94. Or maybe 10. Or a couple of days. Big fucking deal.

If I ever make it to 94, I wanna snort coke off a stripper's ass.

6/13/2013 9:34:04 PM

I can't speak for my other family members.

In my mind, the only negative would be for the potential for the nicotine adversely affecting his heart rate. Ie; give him a heart attack. Highly unlikely, I know.

6/13/2013 9:45:40 PM

Funny thing is, for as long as I can remember, he would give 500$ cash to any family member that quit smoking for one year.

6/13/2013 9:49:28 PM

If I knew smoking:

Would never kill me or make me sick
Didn't make me stinky
Did not interfere with making my schwantz erect
Did not grossly offend my significant other

I'd never have quit. I loved a good cigarette.

6/13/2013 9:52:18 PM

Did you ever think that maybe he wouldn't mind if it affected his heart rate? Sounds like he's to the point where he just wants to do whatever they fuck he wants right now and doesn't give a shit about the adverse effects. I get you're looking out for him, but let him live the years he has left the way he sees fit

6/13/2013 9:53:21 PM

'Preciate all the input. I think I'm gonna get the old fella a smoke somehow.

6/13/2013 10:01:24 PM

Maybe smoke with him or sit with him while he smokes. So he doesn't burn the house down

6/13/2013 10:12:35 PM

Get him the good shit. Fuck tobacco. Roll him a fuckin joint.

6/13/2013 10:18:12 PM

Bahhhhhahahaha. Made me think of this time I was helping a buddy pull the engine out of his car. At his granddad's house, and his dad shows up too. My buddy and his dad produce a joint and go to hitting on it. Granddad comes out, says, "say, one of y'all got a smoke?" Bruce passes him the joint. He takes a drag, not knowing what it is, and commences to coughing and cussing up a storm. I ROFLed.

6/13/2013 10:34:29 PM

I cared for my grandmother during her last 6 months of life. She'd been overweight the first half of her life and thin the second half of her life. She counted calories even at 90 and would talk about how she wished she could have things like steak, hotdogs, chocolate cake... yummy not so healthy foods. We (family and doctor) tried to convince her that at her age she should be able to do whatever she wanted. We never did and when she died at 92 , it kinda made me sad that she didn't allow herself to enjoy one of the few pleasures left to her at that stage of her life.

Tldr: unless he's on oxygen and going to blow everyone to hell by smoking one, get the man his dammed cigarette.

6/14/2013 7:58:29 AM

That is how my great aunt died, but Uncle Doc had the sense to cut the line. No explosion but she was burned pretty badly and ended up dying in the burn center of pneumonia.

6/14/2013 8:08:51 AM

Get him some whiskey while you're at it. My grandpa always had a handle of Evan in the wardrobe and cans of 7Up in the fridge at the nursing home.

You don't have to tell anyone else in the family. I'm sure gramps can keep a secret.

6/14/2013 9:41:40 AM