I love Chicago, but there are some things that just irk me about the city. Finding parking is, to make an understatement, a stressful experience. It’s almost like finding a teardrop in the river.

Then, there’s the weather. It gets so cold you can’t feel your face. Crowded trains, bus delays, and long lines are a few more I could mention. (Combine these two for a real mood-ruiner).

But there’s another thing I would like to bring up and that’s smoking. While it’s banned indoors, Chicago smokers have brought their smoke outside, which would be fine, except for the fact it seems to get in my face wherever I walk. I could be walking down the sidewalk past the doorway to a restaurant, or caught behind someone.

While I completely understand a person has the right to smoke, do I not have the right to breathe clean, toxin-free air? It seems too many a time I have been stuck behind someone walking, with a dozen other unfortunately souls who are being bombarded with recycled cigarette smoke, fresh out of someone’s lungs.

I would like to have the right to avoid that, and have the smell not linger in my hair and on my clothes. While oen may think it’s his or her business what they do with their free time, but when your behavior affects another person, that person has a right to say something.

I feel that some smokers (some, not all) should be more mindful of people around them. If you’re in a crowded area, wait until there’s less people around to light up. People who don’t want to be around it should not have to avoid areas where there are smokers.

It should be the other way around.