Nothing ever stays the same, thank goodness

There are three topics on my mind right now, and I better tell you what they are before I forget. Does that ever happen to you?

Here are today's topics:

Smoking ban.

Chicken law.

Pop-Tarts.

SMOKING BAN: When our older son was born in New York City in 1970, my wife was hospitalized at Staten Island Hospital in a maternity ward. Remember when hospitals had wards? In this case there were a total of eight beds in the maternity ward, and I recall most of them had new mommies.

A young mother who was constantly surrounded by a large Italian family occupied the bed next to my wife. It was a time of celebration for this family, and that included the smoking of cigars by every man around the bed. On top of that, all the women, except the new mother, were smoking cigarettes. In 1970, most everyone smoked.

I smoked, too, but not in the hospital where my wife held our newborn son. It is purely coincidental that I stopped smoking when our son was born. It would be easy to claim that I quit to preserve the health of my family and me. The truth is I abandoned smoking because the price of a pack of cigarettes in New York City jumped to 35 cents a pack (from a quarter) the week before our son was born. I was willing to spend a couple of quarters a day, but somehow 70 cents seemed like highway robbery. And I refused to be robbed by some big tobacco conglomerate. And 70 cents was real money in 1970.

Looking back, two things stick out. One is the fact that cigarettes were so cheap, even after the bump just before our son was born. The other is the fact that hospitals allowed smoking by patients, visitors and staff.

Now time-shift to 2017. Public smoking is prohibited virtually everywhere, sometimes by government edict, sometimes by business owners who recognize how shifts in social-think affect profits. Most restaurants in Cape Girardeau now ask patrons not to smoke, and more eateries are being added to that list.

As a former smoker who once thought every meal ended with a Winston, I'm happy with this trend. And I'll bet any of us would be shocked if we walked into a hospital today and saw someone smoking.

Some changes are, indeed, for the good.

CHICKEN LAW: Others are not.

As I see it, the official knocking down of Cape Girardeau's ban on having chickens in your yard is an overreaction, to say the least.

How many folks does this new fowl-feathered freedom truly affect? A handful.

But allowing chickens opens the way for other backyard denizens.

Like snakes.

Some snake lover out there who already keeps snakes in his bedroom is going to decide, based on the recent official vote at City Hall, that his snakes might enjoy some fresh air as springtime temperatures warm up.

Did you know that snakes can go through gaps that look way too small?

And where do free-roaming snakes go? Into your kitchen through that teeny-tiny gap in your garage door. Every time. I am not making this up.

But there you are. First chickens. Then snakes. And who knows what else?

Don't say you weren't warned.

POP-TARTS: A while back I mentioned that I had tried a Pop-Tart for the first time. As you will recall, I didn't think much of my first Pop-Tart encounter.

But, being the swell guy I am, I invited any of you who are Pop-Tart fans to tell me why I am so wrong-headed about toaster pastries.

Which prompted the nicest letter from Loretta in Jackson.

"So you don't like Pop-Tarts! I do. I eat one every morning with my other breakfast. I like Pop-Tarts because I am a sweet-a-holic. The Pop-Tart has just the right amount of sweetness for in the morning. I like things that are sweeter for lunch and dinner. Maybe you got hold of an old Pop-Tart. It sure doesn't taste like cardboard to me. I have had a Pop-Tart with my breakfast for many years. Why don't you try a different box and different flavor and see if you think they are bad? Love my Pop-Tarts. Be sure it is the Pop-Tart brand and not some other brand. Love my sweets."

Well, Loretta, the Kellogg folks who make Pop-Tarts ought to be busting with pride after your glowing endorsement.

Thanks so much for sharing your sweet feelings. I hope you have many years of Pop-Tart breakfasts ahead of you.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.