The Backlit Clouds and the Vultures on Their Thermals In Their Holding Patterns

I quit smoking a few years ago, right after Christmas, when the January sadness was nigh. There was no specific reason. No coughing up blood, no coughing at all, honestly. At times I did recognize the nicotine buses though, stopping traffic in my veins. I could sense their wheezing air breaks and the tired poor piling in and out of the bright interiors …