I told Susan that she had the right, by law, to work in a smoke-free environment. She said that she really didn’t mind; she had gotten used to the smoke. I alerted her that second-hand smoke has hundreds of toxic chemicals in it, which are harmful to human health. She said that she was O.K. with that !
I urged Susan to tell her boss to stop polluting her work environment with his constant smoking. However, I knew that she would not speak up, since her boss was Fr. Jose ( name changed).
Susan was our Parish secretary, and her office was located inside the rectory, where Fr. Jose lived. He did not have the courtesy to go outside to smoke, but instead exposed everyone to poisonous fumes. Those individuals who came to daily Mass in the tiny chapel inside the rectory , suffered from breathing the fumes too.
In the parish office, where Susan bravely worked, the wall clock was permanently stopped at 4:10.
Plastic Christmas decorations remained in place year-round. But, no one dared question Fr. Jose. He was, after all, a member of the clergy, and we we were members of the laity.
