Cauldron of slow death...

This is a Vintage Turquoise Fiesta Ashtray. It is worth about 60 dollars as a collectible. I quit smoking cigarettes in November 2007. We are not keeping this as it is too expensive to use when company comes over...and I don't smoke anymore. I don't need the cue. It was a filthy habit for me. I can still smell stale cigarette smoke in my truck and in my old clothes. I am grateful that in the last 3 years, I mostly smoked outside. So our furniture does not have to be replaced. I love this little ashtray as I have loved the lighters and all the rituals of smoking. As a small child I was fascinated by fire and the adults who controlled smoke and fire. I can remember loving the smell of the fuel in lighters and even loved the snapping sound of a closing metal zippo. Some adults actually had the skill of blowing smoke rings for our amusement. I grew up knowing that one day, I too would control fire and smoke. I was a dedicated smoker from the very start. In order to steer away from "starting back up", I can not consider keeping such a thing as this Fiesta Ashtray. Back when this ash tray was produced, it was quite common for everyone to have an after dinner smoke. Hollywood glamorized smoking. This piece matched the dinnerware at the time and was kept right in the hutch along with the other fine china. Today smoking is not sanctified by Hollywood. It is not popular to smoke at the dinner table. Just in my lifetime this popular habit has lost its status. I always believed smoking was slow suicide. So an ash tray ends up being yet another cauldron of death.