"Are you completely in the dark about the fire hazard out here?"

Those were the first words out of my mouth when I drove my motorcycle up
beside the young lady's car on Columbia St. in New Westminster. Her
hand, holding a lit cigarette, was dangling out the window as she sat at
the stop light.

I'm sure I startled her. I may even have scared her a bit since neither
I nor my GoldWing are small, and for that I apologize (and only for
that.) I hope I shamed her enough that she'll actually think about how
she practices her habit from now on.

I ride my Honda around the city and surrounding area a lot and while I
see similar activities all the time (two young men in a small "hot" car
with a sun roof on Lougheed Highway East-bound toward Pitt River bridge,
each with lit cigarettes, and one threw his out the passenger side right
in front of me last week,) I don't get a chance often to actually
express my disgust and anger so maybe I was a bit harsh sounding this
time.

"Some of us out here don't appreciate the ash in our eyes and faces
either!" I said to her. "Use the ashtray and keep that thing inside."

What I wanted to say was more along the lines of "if you must smoke,
roll the windows up and keep the damned stuff inside - get the full
benefit of your habit and give Darwin a better chance to act."

My sisters in law in Kelowna are on evacuation alert.

My sons have both visited areas hit hard by fires this year on vacations
planned long in advance - and the experience has moved them.

The people who planned my wife's 40th high school reunion earlier this
summer have lost their home in Kelowna's fire.

And there are still idiots who can't get it through their thick skulls
that it is their fault collectively that fires happen and their
responsibility to do everything in their power to ensure that they
individually practice their bad
habit as safely as possible.

I think the police should take a few days out from tracking down
speeders and target littering and dangerous disposal of materials and
willful negligence, not only on our roads but everywhere.

You may not be able to stop smoking for whatever reason, but you sure as
heck can change your attitude and practices when it comes to where and
how you deal with your anti-social habits.

Use your ashtray - I know your car has at least one

Don't dump your butts out at the stop light - dispose of them properly.

Don't casually flick your ash out the window - I might be behind you.