So perhaps its useful, for me at least, to write about how I started dipping. I remember it well; It was a summer evening in small-town Kansas, my grandparents were at our house and a neighbor kid (Tim), who was much older than me, was shooting baskets in his driveway. Tim was dipping Skoal. Back then it still came in the waxed cardboard can and (to my recollection) seemed like a much finer cut than you get today.
Tim wouldn't give me a dip because it was too strong and instead suggested I have my Dad go buy me a can of Happy Days. I was a pretty relentless kid, still am to this day I guess, so I lobbied my Dad for a few hours. I'm not sure why he took this approach, but Dad went down to the local pool-hall and bought 2 cans - 1 can of Happy Days which he dumped out and another can of Copenhagen which replaced the Happy Days. Dad's thought was that he would make me sick on the Copenhagen and I'd never pick the stuff up again. Boy, he couldn't have been more wrong. Dad started dipping again that day (he dipped a little in the military) - and has dipped ever since. 30 years I guess.....wow.
After I was initiated into Tobacco, I dipped only occasionally. As kids, 2 or 3 of my buddies and I used to shoot BB guns near our local river a lot and we'd often waltz into the grocery store and buy a can of Hawkins (tell me that stuff wasn't marketed to kids!) or Redman, Wintergreen Beechnut and even some nasty old plug that was cheap. Hell, it was all cheap back then. I remember paying .90c for Hawkins.
As I grew up, I dipped only occasionally; When I was mowing the grass, working for Dad's oil company, fishing, etc. But not daily. I'd go weeks or months without ever thinking about a dip. The main fix then was Wintergreen Beechnut. I had buddies who'd even mix Big League Chew (bubble gum) and Beechnut....I was a purest and stuck to WGBN without the b-gum.
When I got into high school, I started dipping Skoal Mint Long Cut. I never have swallowed the spit - always had a spit-cup....thinking that swallowing it would just keep the junk in my system for hours. I guess this was my weak attempt at protecting my health from all the crap in Skoal.
When I went to college, I switched to Copenhagen (my dad's brand) and started dipping all day - every day. Several of my classmates dipped, my girlfriend went to school across the state from me - so socially, I didn't really care what people thought of my spit-cup.
After college, I took a job in the software industry. Being young, they put me on night-shift. I worked with a BUNCH of older Airforce guys who dipped like there was no tomorrow. Bill, Rich, Ed, Joe, Brian, Marcus, Richard...man there were a bunch of dippers there. Needless to say, I fit right in and we'd all dip until the wee hours of the morning. At this point, dip became a habit for me. Although, I do recall quitting for a period of a few weeks, because the skin on the inside of my lip was rough, with little effort - and no withdrawal rage.
Next job was more of the same - in fact many of the guys I worked with followed me to a company I went to. I spent 8 years in this company which was an extremely stressful start-up company environment. Dipped, dipped, dipped, and dipped some more. I used to joke that I was going to bring a hot glue gun and glue all of the Redbull and Copenhagen cans together and make a shrine in my office.
It was during this job when the War in Iraq broke out. As a lot of good-ole boys who's pretty handy with a rifle probably assessed....we could be doing some justice over there. But age, family and life wouldn't allow us to support our country in that way. SO!! I organized a group who raised over $1,000 from inside the company walls to WHAT ELSE? BUY COPENHAGEN FOR THE TROOPS! I guy in the company's son was a Marine and worked in Logistics, so he distributed several dozen rolls of Copenhagen to the guys over there. I know I would have LOVED to get a roll of Cope when I was hunting bad guys.
After the startup company was acquired by a public company, I had to tow the line a bit more due to HR policies actually being enforced. It was then I made a move into Sales at the "new company". No more shorts and sandals to work!
I cleaned my act up for awhile after I moved into the business side of the new company. I didn't dip at work for 3 months or so. Then it was business as usual (for the dipping anyway). Even still, my dipping opportunities were fairly limited since I was working in an office with "professional" visitors stopping by often.
After about 4 years, I left my $ales gig (highly rewarding I might add) and started my own company. I pulled a couple of Sr. Execs along with me, we got the business funded with a few Million $'s and WahLah here I am today.....working from the den in my home - (and before today) was dipping like I've never dipped before. Sometime 2 cans per day. Working from home, starting a company and having 2 young kids makes for a pretty stressful life and has definitely contributed to my accelerated use of Skoal.
On Friday (3 days ago) I noticed I had a scrape (lesion, whatever) on my gum....had some swelling under my jaw - but its probably all due to seasonal allergies (at least I hope and PRAY it is).
So, after dipping for practically my entire life (Mom could have dosed up my formula with some dip) I AM READY TO STOP USING THIS SHIT. I have two wonderful children and I want to be the guy who walks my daughter down the isle someday. Someone on the message board said today "You gotta do it for YOU and no one else."
Sure, I'm doing this for me. I'm no good with pain anymore....used to be tough...played FB and OLB n football, rode motocross (wrecked). So, its for me and the kids.
Now, I nearly ripped my wife a new one tonight for no reason. She was not understanding. I feel like a freaking caged tiger ready to strike anything that even skirts the territory of pissing me off. Luckily, I am traveling to Cleveland and Denver this week - so at least I won't be unfairly attacking family members while I wait for my system to purge the nicotine. I hand't intended for this post to be quite this lengthy, but it helps to put my life of dipping into perspective.
=D90=
