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When Ordinary Stopped Looking Ordinary
For most of my childhood, cigarettes were simply part of the scenery. They were everywhere—family gatherings, restaurants, bus stops, university campuses. Someone was almost always smoking, and everyone else was breathing the smoke. That was simply how life looked. I didn’t like cigarettes. I hated the smell, and as a child I had a rather creative solution to the problem. I thought someone should invent a smoker’s helmet—a fully enclosed helmet that kept every puff of smoke inside so the smoker could enjoy it while the rest of us enjoyed fresh air. I was quite convinced it was a brilliant invention. Sadly, no one seemed interested in investing. But if…
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We All Smelled Like Cigarettes Anyway
Growing Up Around Smokers in Indonesia There are certain smells that instantly transport you back to childhood. Fresh rain. Old books. Fried noodles from a roadside stall. Cajuput oil. And then there is cigarette smoke. Not because I wanted to remember it. It was simply… everywhere. Growing up in Indonesia in the 1980s and 1990s, I don’t remember anyone asking whether smoking was allowed. There was always somebody smoking—a father, an uncle, the neighbour, the man waiting for the bus, a wedding guest, someone at the family gathering, or a stranger in a restaurant. Sometimes I think even the ashtrays had ashtrays. My own father smoked. Some of my friends…
