Take It Easy

26 September 2023

By Frank Scoblete

• I go back to the advertisements about cigarettes in the 1940’s and 50’s that extolled the virtues of smoking. Such and such a cigarette was good for your throat; or for your sore throat, or was recommended by this many doctors over that many doctors. Movie stars shilled for the cigarette companies. Cigarettes helped you breathe better. A future President of the United States extolled their virtues.

Today, people know the dangers of smoking and they may foolishly take up the habit perhaps as a kid trying to impress other kids. Today only one in nine adults smoke – it used to be about 60-something percent in the “good olden days.”

Kids started smoking early in the pre-World War II generation. Heck, in the golden old days almost every movie had smoking in almost every scene. It was the thing to do. Kids see that and they want to do that too.

The United States military in World War II gave out cigarettes to the soldiers!

I smoked as a kid. My young friends and I – we weren’t even teenagers – would go up to the underpass where way down below were the New York City subway trains and we’d light up. I thought I was cool. Actually, I was a fool. I soon quit because my mother caught me hiding the cigarettes in my school bag and she tearfully told my father. I was busted! My rear end hurt for a while after that.

A smoking addiction is a truly bad bet and those of you who have the habit know how powerful a habit it can be. Quitting is extremely hard. Smoking usually starts with a cigarette or two and then catapults that person into a rotten situation.

• Now, I love the game of baseball. Over the decades I have met many great old-time players including Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, Don Larson among many, many more of the current players (to me current is somewhere after 1980). I even had a nice conversation with the late Vin Scully on one of my trips to Las Angeles. He was a great guy.

I have gone to private Old-Timers Day parties of the Yankees. As I said, I love baseball.

Sadly, some of the baseball players I’ve met, even some Hall of Famers, were/are creeps. I won’t name them because some of my readers may feel strongly about these guys. I don’t.

• What is the biggest thing in baseball today? Maybe some of the changes in the procedures of the game. I like them. They speed up the game.

The other big thing are advertisements for sports books. Some of these sports books will take bets, including multiple bets, in a single inning. You can bet it up through the whole game.

I love gambling, I do, and if people want to pony up their money on sports betting, well, that is fine. I’ve been playing against Lady Luck for over 35 years when you read this. I am definitely not anti-gambling.

As long as…

As long as what?

If you are gambling at home, during the games (whatever sports those may be), you must have discipline and manage your money perfectly. I’ll repeat that word – perfectly. Because you don’t have to grab a flight to a gambling venue or drive to your local casino’s sports book, from both of which you have to come home. Playing in your living room can be too easy for a small percentage of players who lack discipline. That’s the danger.

Gambling, of any kind, is a recreational activity. It is for fun. Purely for fun.

A part of wise gambling, be it in a casino or at home, is to be on top of the situation both emotionally and economically. You have to know how much to bet and when to quit a session. If you don’t, well, you could be in for problems.

You do not want to get caught with cigarettes in your school bag. We all hate to be our own mothers and fathers – but at times we have to be.

All the best in and out of the casinos.

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries, and bookstores.