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
