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June 2005
TOBACCO NEWS FROM CANADA Comments by Warren Klass President, FORCES - Canada
I feel that I owe at the very least an explanation for my prolonged absence from Forces Canada. In no particular order: my mother recently died, (my father died about 40 years ago) so as you can imagine I’ve been busy with the funeral, relatives from out of town, estate, lawyers, accountants etc. I started a new job. I’ve come down with a wicked chest problem that is not responding this time to massive doses of prednisone and the puffers. (I am a life long asthmatic. This is because of the rain and unusually cold weather —not because I smoke) I met the girl of my dreams, but it didn’t work out and we broke up. Its been that kind of couple of weeks. I haven’t been home to check my e-mails, never mind respond to the stacks I regularly receive. I haven’t had the time to read the papers. I haven’t been able to do much of anything that did not involve my family. Finding the time, energy, and concentration required to go through the tobacco news and write this column has been beyond my capacity in the past several weeks. I can’t tell you how touched I was by some of the correspondence I managed to get caught up on that said they enjoyed and missed my column. Charles De Gaulle once said that the graveyards are full of irreplaceable people. The cause of smoker’s rights in Canada is too important to wait for me to regain my focus. If someone would like to come forward and assume the responsibility for Forces Canada for the next couple of months or perhaps permanently, I’d appreciate that. I am planning to attend the International Smokers Rights Conference, a good place to ponder my future. For the past several weeks the people at Forces have just been terrific and supportive and have not put any pressure on me to come up with a column. I have been associated with Forces for about seven years, first as president of Forces Manitoba and later as president of Forces Canada. The best part of Forces is the great people you meet and encounter. These people put in hours every single day-without receiving a penny-for a cause they deeply believe in. I would love to stay with Forces in some capacity, but I’m not sure I am still up to being president of Forces Canada with all the responsibility that involves. I have really enjoyed my time at Forces. We may have lost a few battles, but I am convinced that this war thrust upon us is winnable. I am more convinced than ever. < Back To "I read the news..." > |
TOBACCO
NEWS FROM CANADA
June
16 - I Read the News Today…Oh Boy —
An explanation and apology to the readers of Forces Canada