Cigars and New Experiences

I like cigars. I do. More to the point I like good cigars, the kind you buy from a reputable Cigar Shop or one of the good Internet companies. Not the kind you get from your local Convenience store or the checkout line while your picking up a gallon of milk and baby wipes on your way home. The kind of cigars that you have to keep in a Spanish Cedar Humidor. Something with an aged wrapper, hand rolled with a nice filler and decent spice, a good draw and adequate smoke. A cigar that when you finish it you immediately want another but you know it won’t be the same.

Now, that all being said, I try not to smoke too many of them but lately my occasional vice has become a tri-weekly occurrence for which my daughter has been giving me a hard time about. Which is good. I am proud of her for harassing me to stop smoking and to live a healthier lifestyle, I have been telling her for over 10 years to “No smoke, don’t drink, don’t have sex, don’t do drugs.” You know, all the things “We” have done all of our lives and have thought that the people who told us not to do them were nuts. Well, my daughter actually listened to me. Go figure. I still can’t believe she actually listened to me.

So over the course of the last year or so I have “Come Out” as a cigar smoker and most people in my life have accepted it and some even support it. The reason for their support I can only speculate on but I do know my reasons for smoking them which I am going to post here;

1. They FORCE me to stop doing things and relax.
2. While relaxing I get to thinking.
3. Thinking helps me organize my thoughts and figure out what to do.
4. By organizing my thoughts I take the opportunity to write. Hence I smoke more to get more thoughts organized and things to write about. (See the definition of Vicious Circle.)
5. I truly enjoy the time, about 60 minutes or so, that I normally would spend running around like a madman just by myself. (I find my own company quite pleasant.)
6. I really like it when people stare at me as if I am committing a mortal sin by having a nice smoke. It makes me laugh at them.
7. I like the way a good cigar smells and tastes.

So, those are some of my reasons for enjoying my particular vice. I know we all have vices, some people are gamblers, shop-aholics, choco-holics, alcoholics, foodies, shoe collecotors, sex addicts and I am sure many other things that I have no clue about. Me? I am a cigar chomping, long haired opinionated Pollack.

So, you may be asking yourself, where is he going with all this? Well, I will tell you. The other night I was watching the series finale of one of the few television shows that I have been able to keep up with over the past several years when the main character opens up a box that was given to her last season and low and behold inside that box were some cigars. But these were not just any cigars. They were Gurkhas. The brand that is my favorite and you would see dominate my humidor if you ever opened it.

Before I go any further though I want to take this opportunity to thank an old salty shipmate of mine for introducing me to the Gurkha line because before he told me about them I was strictly a Davidoff, Montecristo and Romeo-Julietta smoker.

Thank you Brian! Much love and appreciation goes out to you for broadening my cigar horizons. And by opening the door to the Gurkha line you have also gotten me out of my rut and into trying other brands I overlooked for so long.

Back on track.

So, when I saw Holly Hunter as “Detective Grace Hannadarko” open up that box and I saw for the briefest moment a glimpse of what was inside I almost peed on myself. These were not just any cigars or any Gurkha, these were the “His Majesty Reserve” Gurkha’ they cost $750.00 a stick. These are rare and you just don’t see them anywhere.

“$750.00 a cigar? Are you nuts?” Grace Hannadarko

“They’re Gurkhas’. They are worth it.” The devil

Those are the two lines that pretty much ended the show for me. I had to agree with the devil on that one. Gurkhas’ are worth it. Especially the Nepalese Warriors, they taste like butter! Of course I will never have a $750.00 cigar. Shoot I feel bad for spending what little money I have on cigars and I can think of a lot better things to do with that kind of money. Still, I really would like to know what one of them things tastes like.

Ok, I am wrapping this up because it is going nowhere fast and I really want a cigar. No big revelations this week, no huge gut busting laughs, no anger or rage, no insights to the way I think. Just some cigar talk and the fact that I tried something new and I liked it. Hmm, maybe that is what all this is about, trying new things and having experiences because of the people in your life. On that note, I think I will try something new this coming week. Anyone have any suggestions?