Zippos (a changing of the tide)

[[Be...]]

Yesterday I bought myself a new Zippo.

 

To some people they're just lighters.  To the rest of us they're something more, and we don't even call them 'lighters'.

 

I've been a Zippo owner since I was 17.. 23yrs ago.  Yesterday THE most perfect, beautiful and now my most-favourite-ever Zippo arrived, and I LOVE it.

 

It's the same finish as my 2nd to last one, a Spectrum.  It's finish is unique, because Zippo make them by heat-treating them so the rainbow colours are never quite the same on each one.  They also change slightly over time by a chemical reaction to our skin's oil.

 

The Spectrum I had before this one was my all-time favourite Zippo and I had it for a long time.  However, it had been tainted by the energy of my ex wife.  So, when she went, it, too, had to go.  I bought myself a new one, not the same finish, so that I could have a Zippo that she never touched.  The day she came over to my pad and asked me if I she could use it I said no.  When she asked why, I told her:

 

"Because I don't want you to touch it and I don't want your energy on it, which is why I bought a new one".  She said:

 

"Oh, ok, I guess I know what you're like with your Zippos so I won't touch it". 

 

 

I offered her a Clipper lighter someone had left here, but then had the genius idea of giving her my old Spectrum Zippo that her dirty hands had already been on.  She couldn't believe I was giving her one of my Zippos.  People who know me know how I feel about them and what they mean to me.

 

She took it, put it in her bag, promised never to lose it or damage it (whatever), and it went away and was left in another bag at her parent's house where it wasn't used for 2 years.  I, on the other hand, thought about it every day, and still do.

 

This year my nephew (my favourite man in the world) was using my new one (on the left in the picture below) and saying how much he loved Zippos but couldn't afford one.  I offered to buy him one but he refused on the principal that he knew I couldn't buy a Zippo for anyone else (which I can't, but he's different, like a son to me).  So, I got my old one back from the monster and posted it to my nephew.

 

Unsurprisingly, he (or his mum) could barely believe that I would give him my most-favourite Zippo of all time, but he received the honour with much gratitude.  I also bought him a Zippo fuel container that goes on a keyring, for those unforunate moments when a Zippo gives its last flame while we're out.  He deserved it and I know he loves it like I would.  His mum says he tells her he feels very special that he'd be given a Zippo, let alone that particular one!  He was very excited and done just what I'd have done.. went and bought proper Zippo fuel, flints and wicks.  No other-brand rubbish is good enough for a Zippo.  Simple as that.  And he knew this.  That's partly why I felt good giving it to him.  Because I knew he'd know the score.

 

To me, the only thing I own that's more important and more special than my Zippo are my guitars.  My Zippo goes everywhere I go, and carries with it my energy, and nearly all the experiences I have, it shares.  It is a symbol of something deeply relevant to me at a stage in my life, or it would never have been bought.  When I buy one, it's never just because I want a new one.  Never.  I only ever get a new one to symbolise something special happening in my life, like an end, or a beginning of something highly relevant to me. 

 

I got my new one yesterday, to symbolise the beginning of something very, very special.  It's the same Spectrum finish as my all-time favourite.. the one I passed to my nephew.  However, this new one looks better, and has the letter 'A' as the batch code (appeasing my OCD but I don't know why), and also the number '14'  as it's year of manufacture (again, appeasing my OCD because that's the year I got it).  The logo and words on its bottom are perfectly stamped (not always the case), and every single thing about it is better than any Zippo that has ever come before it.  I feel like a proud father. 

 

This is now my all-time favourite Zippo, and it will see many good & bad things to come in the future.  Whether I continue to smoke or not, it will always be with me. 

 

This is my Zippo, there are many like it, but this one is mine.

 

 

So, what to do with my old one that I still have?  I'm going to give it to someone very special as a symbol of how I feel about her.  This'll be the 2nd time I've done this in 23yrs.  Yes yes, I can hear you thinking "but you gave one to your ex".. well.. that's true, but only because I wanted to shut her up, make a point, and get rid of the bad energy and memories that were on it far away from me.  In my defence, I never handed it to her out of love or as a symbol of what she meant to me (which was a pain in the ass).  Anyway, it's gone where it should have gone all along, and given in the spirit of love.  I now know it's in the hands that deserve it.

 

 

Today, I get to spend a little more time saying goodbye to my old one (which I really, really, really love) before it goes to somebody else, and where it ends up after that I will never know, but it will always remain in and retain a little piece of my heart, just as every one that came before it still does.

 

It's now time to move on to my new one, my all-time favourite Zippo, and embrace the bond that we're going to be sharing for a very, very long time, possibly until I leave this world.  I once again feel totally complete and at one with my Zippo.  A thing I've been without for 2 years!  I just never really understood I was missing something until it came back.

 

 

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/benzophotobucket/Zippos_zpscc9127ac.jpg

 

 

 

[[ba...]]

i have a zippo just like the one on the left its a brushed stainless steal color,  it was given to me it used to belong to their roommate that moved out , i lost it a few months i found it like around 10 days ago under my car seat when i was searching for my keys i bought a can of zippo lighter fluid that can has lasted almost a year and it was only 99 cents ! i use other lighters most of the time when i smoke

[[be...]]

i have a zippo just like the one on the left its a brushed stainless steal color,  it was given to me it used to belong to their roommate that moved out , i lost it a few months i found it like around 10 days ago under my car seat when i was searching for my keys i bought a can of zippo lighter fluid that can has lasted almost a year and it was only 99 cents ! i use other lighters most of the time when i smoke

 

heya Katie......Katie you're only what? 23? quit now and don't let this happen to you..

 

http://i.imgur.com/F43vQAz.jpg

[[ba...]]

i usually just smoke cheap cigaretes L&M or Pall Malls maybe cheap cigarettes are less harmfull i have a pipe also i want to show you here later on

[[sn...]]

Nice lighters there Benzoid.

 

 

Benzo J. Nice set of lungs. It truly amazes me how much the human body can take sometimes.

[[...]]

i usually just smoke cheap cigaretes L&M or Pall Malls maybe cheap cigarettes are less harmfull i have a pipe also i want to show you here later on

 

They're just as harmful 

 

I used to smoke cigs a lot in college, haven't smoked one in a long ass time. I'm so glad I was able to drop that habit.

 

Not hating on people that smoke them though, to each his own 

[[be...]]

Nice lighters there Benzoid.

 

 

Benzo J. Nice set of lungs. It truly amazes me how much the human body can take sometimes.

 

heya Snow,....i hear ya..i quit about 6 or 7 years ago..c/t'd after a 29 year pall mall habit. i was under the impression that it took about 7 years or so for the lungs to get back to the 'pre-smoking' state but evidently this isn't the case. once the lungs are damaged they stay damaged. who knows???

[[sn...]]

Nice lighters there Benzoid.

 

 

Benzo J. Nice set of lungs. It truly amazes me how much the human body can take sometimes.

 

heya Snow,....i hear ya..i quit about 6 or 7 years ago..c/t'd after a 29 year pall mall habit. i was under the impression that it took about 7 years or so for the lungs to get back to the 'pre-smoking' state but evidently this isn't the case. once the lungs are damaged they stay damaged. who knows???

Hey Benzojunkie, WTG on quitting smoking. That must have been difficult. I bet you felt way better once you quit.

[[Di...]]

Nice lighters there Benzoid.

 

 

Benzo J. Nice set of lungs. It truly amazes me how much the human body can take sometimes.

 

heya Snow,....i hear ya..i quit about 6 or 7 years ago..c/t'd after a 29 year pall mall habit. i was under the impression that it took about 7 years or so for the lungs to get back to the 'pre-smoking' state but evidently this isn't the case. once the lungs are damaged they stay damaged. who knows???

 

Well, not that I want to scare anyone who smokes (although really I do), but my Dad smoked from about the age of 18 (when he went off to WWII) and quit when he was about 60. Obviously all those years of smoking did a lot of damage to his lungs.

 

However, he had been cigarette free for almost 30 years when he died and his cause of death was pulmonary fibrosis which the doctors established was from all those years of smoking. So, no, your lungs never go back to "pre-smoking" health if they have been that damaged. It was a very long drawn out and painful death for him, and wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

 

So the take home message here is quit before you have the chance to damage your lungs as severely as he did.

 

[[ba...]]

Nice lighters there Benzoid.

 

heya Snow,....i hear ya..i quit about 6 or 7 years ago..c/t'd after a 29 year pall mall habit. i was under the impression that it took about 7 years or so for the lungs to get back to the 'pre-smoking' state but evidently this isn't the case. once the lungs are damaged they stay damaged. who knows???

 

Pall malls mustve been really cheap when you first started smoking them stripes has them lowest priced here like  $4.85 which ones did you smoke? i alternate between the blue pack 100s and the reds 100s 

[[be...]]

Katie, i used to smoke the non-filtered.

 

my apologies to Benzoid for inadvertently turning his, what i perceive to be 'nostalgia' thread, into an 'anti-smoking' campaign...

[[Ju...]]

My dad was also a heavy smoker that started as a teenager during WWII, he smoked 3 packs a day- he also always used a lighter that looked like those in the pictures and to this day the sound of 1 of those lighters being flipped open is likely to cause me to have a full blown panic attack (just seeing the pictures kind of freaked me out, I didn't know they were called zippos) that sound takes me back to my childhood which was not a happy time.  My dad also quit smoking at 60 and lived another 30 years (he died last summer) but he had to use a breathing machine and had a very slow and painful death.  I quit smoking 3 years ago, 2nd best decision I ever made.

[[ba...]]

Katie, i used to smoke the non-filtered.

 

my goodness thats some STRONG stuff you were smokin those non filtered pall malls mustve been as strong as a Buglar ! im curious to try the orange pack turkish blend pall malls  a man in his 80s that lives by me smokes those

 

 

[[No...]]

My first and only Zippo was given to me by my employer. 

I LOVED  that Zippo..... The way it felt in my hand,  how when

you would "flick" the cap back,  thumb to the lighter ball,  then

Zip.... The light instantly flickered,  waiting. The "snap"  as my

treasured Zippo  closed. The smooth texture as my thumb

traced a pattern across the Zippo  I loved so well.

I  gave my Zippo  to my husband and now it's gone,

The memories of those times with my Zippo never lost.

 

Benziod,  thanks for the memories brought back.

 

NFM

[[Fl...]]

I've NEVER smoked, but my dad did, and he used a zippo. I remember the click it made when he flicked it open to light his smoke, and the next click when he closed it.  He had to fill it with lighter fluid, and I remember watching him do this.  A ritual if you will.

 

He shared a funny story with me.  When he was in the navy and out to sea...he had a buddy who always used matches. So, my dad told him "why don't you get yourself a lighter" that way you can have it with you at all times. The guy listened to my dad and bought himself his first Zippo   They were standing on the deck of the ship and his buddy went to light his smoke.  Took his new zippo out of his pocket, flicked open the top, used his thumb to flick the wheel which created the flame to light his smoke, and than out of habit...he shook the lighter as if to put out his match, and threw the zippo over board...lol.  My dad said they stood there watching it float down to the bottom of the ocean. Poor guy! 

 

I'm sure many have there own personal Zippo stories

 

FB

[[VC...]]

Enjoyed your post, Benzoid. Your nephew sounds like a great guy to inherit your Zippo. Brought back memories of my own Dad. He was fairly protective of his Zippo lighter; now I understand why. Thanks for sharing.

 

I must admit, I'm continually surprised that so many folks on this forum still find creative ways to derail someone's personal thread. Unreal. 

 

V.

 

 

[[be...]]

Enjoyed your post, Benzoid. Your nephew sounds like a great guy to inherit your Zippo. Brought back memories of my own Dad. He was fairly protective of his Zippo lighter; now I understand why. Thanks for sharing.

 

I must admit, I'm continually surprised that so many folks on this forum still find creative ways to derail someone's personal thread. Unreal. 

 

V.

 

unreal? unreal? i'll tell you what's unreal VCharis. unreal is the fact that even though you clearly saw that i'd apologized to Benzoid for inadvertaintly leading this thread 'astray,' you still felt the need to have a 'dig' at me. like i planned the whole thing and did it 'creatively.' yeah right. and why say 'some people?' at least have the gumption to blame me directly.

 

but let me tell you what is real. what is real is that even though i did lead this thread 'off kilter,' i'm sure Benzoid himself would not have minded if it helped even one single person quit smoking.

[[Co...]]

Hi all,

 

We all can post inappropriately on occasion. We all can post off-topic from time-to-time. Sometimes we can hang on to disagreements we should let go. It is just human nature. On top of all this, most people posting to this forum are taking benzodiazepines, withdrawing from benzos, or are recovering from their use. This can result in more friction than might otherwise occur.

 

There is no big issue here. It really is not worth the bad feelings.

[Guest [Lo...]]

Here you go, V.

 

 

[move]http://cekatop.ru/sites/default/files/images/zazhigalki-zippo-logo.jpg[/move]

 

 

 

In honor of the Zippo fans.

 

 

[[be...]]

i really wish Benzoid would pop in and give his opinion on all this.. Moo,Vcharis, Lost....any idea how he is these days? good i hope..

[[VC...]]

i really wish Benzoid would pop in and give his opinion on all this.. Moo,Vcharis, Lost....any idea how he is these days? good i hope..

 

Sorry, just caught this. You certainly could ask him yourself how he's doing.

[[ba...]]

Jimmy when you quit smoking did you use nicotine patches or gum to help you get thru? one of the reasons why i started smoking after quitting  for over a year was i heard that smoking can possibly benifit me i read that smoking makes medications stay in the body a shorter time umm im sure theres other ways to detox in a safter way from benzos

[[be...]]

hi Katie, to quit smoking, i c/t'd. i think the gums and patches are not effective. you would be just substituting one form of nicotine for another. just my opinion. but if you want to quit you don't have to cold turkey. you could just taper. every time you have a cig, write down the time. do this for a week. then get the average time between smokes. then each week thereafter just increase the amount of time between cigs by 5 minutes or whatever is comfortable for you. in a year or so you should be down to so few cigarettes that it will be very easy for you to quit. of course, you can speed up the process....i hope you do it! i know you can, i just hope you do!....jim.

[[ba...]]

thanks thats  a good idea  i should get an empty pack of cigarettes and put around 7 in there so i can limit myself to 7 cigarettes a day

[Guest [Lo...]]

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