Just this afternoon, I met a living, breathing example of why smoking is a bad idea.
My father-in-law's mother has lived in a nursing home for the past few years. She just turned 99. A lot of the family came to celebrate her (possibly last

) birthday.
In the elevator, we met an elderly man. He was confined to an electric wheelchair, had a trake (sp?) ring, and was unable to speak. He could communicate only by honking a horn and some rudimentary sign language... we asked him what floor he wanted to go to, and he held up two fingers, so I hit the 2 button.
To be unable to speak, and perhaps unable to write... I'd rather die than go down that path.