I have commented elsewhere about my “Bad Habits,” including cigarette smoking, and my ultimately giving up this damaging habit. On the other hand, there is a related topic I would mention. This topic involves lighters, specifically cigarette lighters. They were once very popular gifts to buy for yourself or friends, almost all of whom were fellow smokers. They could also serve as “collectibles,” given the variety of possible designs they had.
One of the earliest markers of my adulthood was a thin, gold lighter, which was a surprise gift from my mother. It was her acknowledgment that she was on to me! She never approved of my smoking; it was my secret habit until sometime during my junior year in college. Of course, given the tobacco odor which infests all of the clothing of every smoker, my habit was not very secret. However, in the fifties and sixties, few recognized, or complained, about cigarette smoke. Second-hand inhalation existed only in the future. It was not until our daughter reached talking age that I heard complaints about cigarette smoke and had to roll down the car windows when she was being transported anywhere with me.
As for that golden lighter, it was probably preceded by the usual Zippo. That form of snap-topped lighter claimed to be wind-proof. Its manufacture dates to the mid-1930’s, about the time of my own birth. Zippos certainly became popular during the Second World War, no doubt because of the claim of their being wind-proof. It was during the First World War that the unlucky statement of “three on a match” became common. It was the belief that the third smoker lighting his cigarette from a singular wooden match would surely be shot and killed by an enemy sniper. Lighting a cigarette as quickly as possible, regardless of wind conditions, might be the difference between life and death.
My own Zippo was, no doubt, preceded by wooden matches. I can still recall the unique sulfur-phosphorus fragrance of a blown-out wooden match. Much of the time, I found it to be a comforting experience. Paper matches did not have the same association. Lighting them was a mere convenience, not a ritual in and of itself.
On the other hand, collecting matchbooks was a hobby for many young men. I was included in this group for several years during the sixties and seventies, when I kept matchbooks associated with a special memory of a place or event. It was not uncommon for a bachelor’s apartment to include a bowl of matchbooks, with or without matches attached to each cover. Nearby, would be a fist-sized cigarette lighter.
For decorative purposes, pocket-size Zippo lighters and matchbooks were insufficient. Every smoker owned at least one lighter built for placement on a coffee table, which also held an oversized ashtray or two. And yes, even if our daughter objected to the odor of cigarette smoke, she and many other young offspring formed an ashtray as an elementary school project. Often, they seemed to be in the shape of the child’s hand.
Throughout the years, Zippo lighters, which required almost weekly recharging with lighter fluid poured from a small can into the cotton-wad inside of the lighter, were replaced by disposable, butane lighters. These plastic lighters came in a spectrum of colors and designs. Few unwanted fires erupted from these pocket lighters as they jostled in a pants-pocket. This spontaneous result, however, has occurred in recent years, with the introduction of vaporized smoking and poorly designed e-cigarettes.
Obviously, back-in-the-day, lighting a cigarette required the use of a Zippo, or alternate brand, as well as wooden and paper matches. A fire for a wiener-roast picnic or for a backyard grill for hamburgers, could be started with them as well. It was best to have a very long wooden match in order to ignite either a grill or a fireplace. The user also had to be careful of the amount of auxiliary fluid-fuel added to the briquettes before the match was applied.
Of course, ancient man had flints and hard rocks to work with. I tried this procedure on very few accessions, with only a very limited success. Carefully blowing on a smoldering ember induced by a sparking flint did not yield reliable results. Young boys also learned about magnifying glasses. These optical instruments not only enlarged images; they could also start a leaf to burn. I consider myself to be lucky if I could get a crisp-edged hole in the ones I tried to ignite.
There were also candles. I have found their fires to be comforting and mesmerizing. I do miss not being able to light them in our apartment at Eagle’s Trace. Candles may be made with diverse fragrances; it’s not the same to spray a similar scent from a bottle. Non-ignitable infused sticks are the only sources of fragrance management allows.
Throughout the ages, humans have been awed by fires, especially those initiated by lightening strikes. The residents of our western states, today, find such fires to be awesome in very negative ways. When hundreds of forest fires and thousands of acres burn at the same time, great destruction occurs. The words of Smokey-the-Bear do not always have the result he describes.
Nevertheless, the death of individual humans, one at a time, can result from the striking of a flame – when its aim is to light a cigarette. I’m pleased I stopped doing that some twenty years ago. I really don’t miss my Zippo.