Make New Friends but keep the old

Last night I enjoyed the company of three friends who are very dear to my heart. Each of us are in a different stage of life although we are around the same age give or take a few years. I met these gentlemen a few years back at college. As the semesters passed we began to have an appreciation for each other. This blog will talk about them in a few short words.

Billy Brown - aka "The Great One"...Billy's wife is best friends with my wife, that is actually how we met. I believe this to be the only friendship I have whereby we were introduced by our girlfriends. Usually when this happens it tends to be very awkward and sometimes offensive. This was not the case for him. Billy and his wife became our go to couple to hang out with. He and his wife are expecting their first child any day now. Billy works harder than any other person I know. I admire that about him. He is driven to support his wife and now his yet-to-be-born son. His love and devotion for the church is another characteristic I admire about him. He has remained faithful to his calling in the midst of trials and frustrations. He is a great friend...We also share the same first and last name

Jonathan Robinson - The thing I love most about Jon is his ability to say the things that I dare not. For those of you who know me in the slightest bit should know I am not ashamed to speak my mind. However, there have been times I have had to keep my mouth shut. This is where Jon comes in. He doesn't give a damn and I love him for it. I met Jon at Trinity where we had many classes together. We gravitated towards one another when the topic of cigars came up and that was the beginning of our beautiful friendship. My favorite memory of Jon was in our "Theology of Sanctification" class. Jon strolls in 20 minutes late smelling like a Djarum clove cigarette. I looked at him and he looked at me and said..."Oh yeah...that just happened". I couldn't tell you what I learned in that class but I can tell you I found a friend there. Jon is very articulate and is full of knowledge, wisdom, with a twist of bullshit...and lime. If I ever needed someone to go to bat for me, Jon would make the starting line-up.

Jonathan Ramsay - Out of the three people that showed up last night, I know Jon the least. He was the youngest of everyone present but has probably lived the most. Jon is finishing his final year in college and is itching to get out. My friendship with Jon started out very slow. He and I didn't really speak to one another so much as we hung around the same people. I don't know when we actually became friends but at some point we did. He and I started to hang out a fair amount when he decided to go to school in North Carolina. This upset me because we had just become friends. We texted back and forth a few times while he was up there and after like 8 months he came back. As luck would have it unbeknown to either of us, we moved within 300 yards from each other. Jon works a crappy job to pay rent and gas while going to school full-time. The thing I respect about Jon is his faithfulness in the little things. One day this will pay off in a mighty way. His loyalty to those he cares for rivals Lassie...its a compliment. I am excited for the day when he walks across that stage.

CIGAR
Carlos Torano 1916 Cameroon Robusto

I chose this cigar for us to smoke out of the same appreciation I have for these gentlemen. This cigar has a place close to my heart...maybe my lungs. I payed $1.30 a stick the first time I purchased this cigar. One is lucky to pay 6 bucks for it anywhere else...but I digress. This is one of my faithful few cigars. It is my first "go to" if I have not smoked in a while. The first half inch has a bit of spice to it but mellows out into a consistent smooth creamy flavor. It is both consistent and a delight. Last week I invited 6 guests over to my place...the 3 I knew would show up...showed up. We were a bit disappointed when the others didn't show but it did not affect our evening. We lit our cigars with cedar strips and complimented our smokes with two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was indeed a classically fantastic evening. Until next time...hopefully sooner than later

TL&tL

Aging

Over the last few weeks I have been pondering this topic...Not in a mid-life crisis way of pondering, but more in an overall direction of life thought. This applies not only to life but in cigars as well. Currently I am smoking a Don Lino Africa: Punda Milla cigar. It has been aging in my humidor for well over a year. I'll get to the cigar in a minute; first I want to discuss some life. As mentioned earlier I have spent some time in thought lately over growing up. Many times I see my fellow peers on facebook post a status that goes something like this: "Why can't I go back to where my biggest problem was math homework and all I wanted to do was ride my bike?", I read this and I become somewhat nostalgic thinking of my pre-teen years but then I realize what this person is actually saying. They are afraid. More specifically they are afraid of growing up...or at least entering into adulthood.

Last week I had a buddy of mine over to enjoy a cigar and discuss the process of becoming an adult. It seems as though many of our friends either get married by the time they are 25 or stay in "college" mode until they are in their early thirties. Neither of these options really define being an adult though. Being a newly married individual I have realized that marriage at a young age can do one of two things. First, it can reveal many immaturities in one's life. Whether it be selfishness, pride, lack of grace, or rebellion; something/s will come up. What people do with this will dictate the outcome of the marriage. The one's who confront this with open communication with their spouses will lead them into a very strong and intimate marriage. But those who hide from their imperfections or do nothing about them, that marriage will very quickly venture onto thin ice. Honestly, if you don't know yourself very well, its a coin flip.

The other option I see quite regularly is staying single but never moving forward. This can be either great or devastating. I see many of my friends who have graduated from college and never move forward into a career. They just linger...and another year passes...and another...and before they realize what has happened, they have the maturity level of a 19 year old in a 30 year old body. From what I have perceived, this is a lonely place. The other side of this coin is one who embraces their position of being single and becomes content. Being content in life is something everyone should strive to forward. Being content is not working until you can relax. Being content is relaxing while you work. It is enjoying one's position exactly where they are. This leads into a whole new conversation which revolves around service. If you serve your job or your money, your will always be one step away from being content. The trick is serving the one Thing that matters and in doing so finding contentment...but that discussion is not for a blog, that is meant for face to face.

Cigars can age in many ways as well. If you're not careful with your humidor you can produce a cracked, dried-up cigar. The trick is to keep your humidor at room temperature and at an acceptable humidity level. Here is a great link about how to age a cigar. The Africa cigar I am currently smoking has been aged since July of '08. The normal flaws of this cigar is the constant relighting but that is minuscule compared to the flavor of it. It is very smooth thoughout and the flavor does not change much at all. I can compare it to a dark sumatra coffee, french pressed with nothing in it. If you like black coffee, you will love this cigar.

In the begininng

Arturo Fuente Opus X - Fuente Fuente

Wrapper - Dom. Republic

Filler - Dom. Republic

Binder - Dom. Republic

Appearance:

The look of this cigar is sublime. The label is intricate, embossed, with many colors. In a word...beautiful.

Not one obnoxious vein on the wrapper.

Burn and Ash:

Overlooking the relighting of the cigar a number of times...very even

This cigar is not for the faint of heart. Begins with a hint of spice, enough to make the mouth water but quickly subsides to a smooth earthen tone throughout. The draw was ideal to enjoy all of the flavors this full-bodied cigar offers. The strength of this cigar increases until the very end. A great way to end a day. Complimented the glass of Pinot Noir quite well.

In the beginning:

Seeing as this is the first post, what better way to begin the blog by discussing creation...the beginning of life. My wife and I sat on our porch discussing the idea of how we came to be. With both of us addressing the issue from a Christian worldview, the conversation immediately guided itself to Intelligent Design. The two most popular arguments for ID are The Teleological Argument and The Cosmological Argument. Although the Teleological Argument is very Biblically based, we both concluded that the Cosmological Argument carries more weight. Furthermore, the latter of the two is a stronger apologetic tool in arguing for a Judeo-Christian God...however that was not the issue at hand. By whatever means the universe itself was created, the fact remains; it WAS created. The question then became...how? Big Bang, 7 days, Trillions of years, Theistic Evolution were all mentioned or at least hinted at but in the end the conversation landed (in my mind a least) on a quote from Blaise Pascal "There is sufficient light for those who desire to see and enough obscurity for those of a contrary disposition". Halfway through the cigar the subject gradually changed to a more appropriate conversation a husband and wife should have...what is for dessert?

TL&tL