"Man, it's freezin' outside," I said to my wife after running out to get the morning paper.

"Well, it is November," she said.

"They said on the radio that it's in the 40s in some parts of the Bay Area, and should get colder tomorrow," I said. "And later this week it might rain."

"Well, it is November," she repeated (she's not much of a conversationalist that early the morning, but she knows how to make a point).

"Baby, it is ever cold outside!" I continued.

"Well, it is ... oh, never mind, I'm going back to sleep," she said, visibly exasperated.

I knew what the month was. My point was that it's getting cold, and it's the time of year to stay inside where it's warm.

Attention smokers: Please stop. Continued reading could prove hazardous to my health.

It's at this time of year that I'm very glad I'm not a smoker. You see, smokers have it kinda tough in November ... because there's no smoking inside, and it's pretty darn cold outside!

So smokers might want to take advantage of a unique opportunity to stay warm this week by participating in the annual Great American Smokeout on Nov. 17. Smokers are encouraged "to quit for one day, in the hope that they will quit for good."

Sounds like a good plan to me. But in the meantime, I'm pretty happy about the arrangement of smoking outside, no smoking inside. But then again, I'm not a smoker. (I'm sure I have many other equally disgusting habits ... just ask my sons.) And I've gotten pretty used to going about my business without ever actually having to come in very close contact with someone who does smoke.

Uh, if you're a smoker and still reading, nothing personal.

So when a buddy and I headed to the great Northwest a few years back to visit another buddy who lives up in Eugene, I was a little surprised by what I heard when we went out to get something to eat.

"Good morning," said the hostess who greeted us as we walked through the door of the coffee shop.

"Hello ... three please," I said.

"Will that be smoking, non-smoking or first available?"

"Huh!" The question stopped me cold. It's been years since I've been asked that question at a restaurant.

I'm old enough to remember when smoking while dining--or pretty much anywhere, for that matter--was readily accepted. In fact, lighting up was pretty much considered part of the meal ... soup and salad, main course, coffee and dessert, then a Winston.

But, slowly, smoking has been phased out of most public places ... in California. In Oregon at that time (it's since changed), it was a different story.

"Oh, definitely non-smoking," I told the hostess emphatically.

I guess I just didn't understand the concept. We walked through a cloud of smoke as she led us to our table. "Uh, they're smoking at the next table," I said, pointing to the couple in the booth beside ours.

"Sure, Hon," she explained. "That's the smoking section, and here's the non-smoking section. See the line on the floor."

She pointed out a strip of tape that stretched across the center of restaurant. Made sense, I suppose. People could figure out that smokers belonged on one side, and non-smokers belonged on the other. It's just the smoke that wasn't altogether on with the concept.

Did she really call me Hon?

It's funny, but for years we ate in restaurants right next to a table full of smokers and never thought much about it. Now, a young twenty-something mom is having a cigarette with her morning coffee ... and it smelled so bad I thought I would gag on my oatmeal. I guess I just figured that if we banned smoking in restaurants, offices and other public places here in California that it was banned elsewhere as well.

Uh-uh. We found out that the same is true in Reno when we drove up there last winter to visit my sister. So when the snow falls in the Biggest Little City in the World, smokers don't huddle in doorways seeking shelter from the elements ... they light up right inside.

Not so here in California.

The mercury is starting to dip, but despite the elements there they will be, out in the cold, sharing that age old battle cry ... "Smoke 'em if you got 'em." They smoke ... when it's cold, when it's wet, when it's cold and wet. They simply can't help themselves.

The Great American Smokeout just might be the excuse they need to quit smoking ... and get back inside where it's warm.

Want to talk? Give me a call at 408.354.3110, or write to dsparrer@community-newspapers.com.