ElJefeDeNada

My grandfather in Denver smoked cigars when I was a kid in the '60s. After dinner, he'd light up, turn on the St. Louis Cardinals game on radio and he'd teach me cribbage, gin and poker. Think he was smoking NC Anthony & Cleopatra at the time, but I found an empty box of H. Upmanns from the '40s with photos of my father in Italy in WWII so I know he was smoking Cubans before the embargo. Regardless, cigars held a wonderful connection for me. My father smoked cigarettes when I was young and pipes as I was older, but a cigar always transported me. By junior high, my buddies and I would buy Roi-Tan cigars for our "campouts" at each others ranches. Most dropped cigars by college, but I still enjoyed them on hunting weekends by the campfire even if sometimes years apart. It wasn't until another friend returned from Europe with some Romeo y Julieta cedars of some sort that I had my first Cuban in 2012 or so. That was when the lightbulb went off and I realized what a difference there was. I now buy them with a goal of holding them for 3-5 years aging at least. I still have that connection with my grandfather, but there's also the optimism that I'll enjoy these in 5 years, kind of like the old joke about an optimist buying green bananas when you're old. I like the promise of a cigar, of what it should be and what it can be. Life slows down for a good cigar and that's no simple thing.

If you're heading to New Orleans from Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Austin and San Antonio are all great stops with plenty to do, eat, drink and see. Great time of year for all three.

I suppose I should have mentioned his recommendation for the San Juan comes at about the 19:20 mark, but the interview is interesting as to how the contest is run and how he prepared. I can discern the differences in cigars, whisk(e)y and wines when tasting side by side, but am left floundering in generalities when blind tasting anything like that. It's a real talent Darius and other experts exhibit. I'm in awe.

I just picked some tubos and a 10 box to lay down for a bit. Don't normally go for the larger ring size but these were said to be smoking quite well by Darius Namdar, the winner of the 2018 Habanosommelier competition, so I took notice as I have enjoyed the HdM profile in general. We'll give the tubos (TOS 8-16) a try after a few months rest.

As a Longhorn fan, I've greatly enjoyed Aussie import Michael Dickson, drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round. The Ray Guy winner, he brings an amazing ability to place his punts that will absolutely win the Seahawks games over the years by flipping the field. Not that many would have been interested in watching Texas and Missouri in the Texas Bowl in December, but Dickson won the game MVP for keeping the Tigers red-hot SEC offense pinned in their end of the field with: 10 of those punts landed inside Mizzou’s 15-yard line. 7 landed inside the 10-yard line. 4 landed inside the 5-yard line. ZERO touchbacks. He's a great kid and now his cousin will be the punter at UT. Looks like there's an Aussie pipeline to Austin!

"I'm not supporting (Cuba's) economy. I'm burning their crops." – Alexander Haig Wording varies from source to source but attributed to Haig.

Because I've been exploring rums (thanks to recommendations on this board), my son brought me a bottle of the Koloa Kaua'i Spice back from a Hawaiian trip and it's really, really nice. I pick up vanilla and other spices. It's smooth and at its best sipped neat. The only problem being its limited availability in the lower 48. So I'm nursing my bottle judiciously.

After 30-plus years of marriage, my wife convinced me of mine.

It should be noted that General Ignacio Zaragoza was born in Goliad, Texas, which gives Texans another reason to celebrate the day. Of course, Texans will celebrate anything at the drop of a bull calf's testicles. So there's that too.

Mika27, you are missed!

The Atlantic did a story on the Harvard study some 5-10 years ago and I shared it with my family then. I'm sharing this with them now. A really thought-provoking book I'd recommend is "How Will You Measure Your Life," by Clayton M. Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School. It's a short read and began as the farewell lecture in Christensen's class, which my son took. As in typical HBS processes, he explores happiness and fulfillment in life with wonderful case studies giving detailed examples. It explores how to make good decisions throughout life with great business lessons thrown in. About 200 pages and well worth every one.

As my late father-in-law said of pageants, "I didn't raise my daughter to be a heifer at the county show." Nor did I raise mine thusly.

Guy never should have been on a motorcycle when clearly what he needs is a Hummer.

That's a really cool thing to do for your father, topdiesel. Smells can trigger great memories. I treasure my childhood memories of visiting my grandfather in the summer and playing cribbage with him while he smoked his evening cigar. Great present.