Cigar Smoking… A Beautiful & Fleeting Encounter, by Tommy Zman
A few nights ago I was walking around the Upper East side of Manhattan, cigar in hand, enjoying a gorgeous evening (along with one heck of a lot of gorgeous ladies, not that I normally notice that kind of thing, uh-huh). It’s such a nice neighborhood, lots of folks hustling and bustling about, jogging, walking dogs, pushing strollers, heading to their favorite restaurants – you get the picture, a classic cosmopolitan area in the Big Apple.
Now we know that New York’s Mayor Mikey has made it a no-no to smoke in a lot of areas, but your Zman here is a defiant CROMAG indeed, and if I want to enjoy a great cigar – OUTDOORS – where there’s billions of square feet of open air mixed with billions of pollutants from the gazillions of vehicles that drive through the city, well, THAT is what I choose to do. Am I condoning defiance of the readers here on the JR Blog? No, not at all… I’m condoning my own actions, and smoking a beautiful hand rolled cigar in the open air is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world to do – and until some government moron makes cigars illegal, then just call me an anarchist rebel and be on your way. And as I walked the streets, not only did no one complain, but on three occasions I was told how good my La Aurora Double Corona smelled.
So, I’m walking along 2nd Avenue, looking to hook up with my friend who flew in from the left coast, when I pass by this stunningly attractive lady, leaning back relaxed against a beam outside a fancy little French eatery, and this gal is also smoking a double corona sized cigar. I jammed on the breaks brakes from a fast-paced stroll as my eyes just gazed upon this smoking hot woman – yes, literally. You have to admit that this kind of thing is an odd site, indeed, especially in this fancy-shmancy neighborhood. So I did what any ultra-curious lover of the leaf would do – I went over to see what her story was because there’s always a story.
Like out of a movie I walked over and leaned myself on the beam next to her, puffing my double corona as she just laughed and puffed away as well. I introduced myself, assuring I wasn’t some weirdo cretin trying to hit on her. She smiled and said she knew I wasn’t and told me her name was Rachel and admitted that she gets a lot of weird stares when she’s outdoors enjoying her favorite smoke. I actually told her I thought she looked beautiful standing there and it was obvious how much she was enjoying the moment. Again, I can assure you all I wasn’t on the prowl, I was simply taken aback by such an unusual sight and situation, and when does a shlub like me get to oogle without making an ash of himself? (Not very often, that’s for sure.)
So before I could ask, she asked me, “What’s your story, Tommy?” Like I said, everyone’s got a story and this goddess was curious about mine (the ego was inflated beyond reproach at this point.) Now usually I’ll go with the line that I’m a CIA operative and blending in with Joe public was my assignment from headquarters for today, but somehow I knew that telling her I write smoky tales for the cigar world would be a hell of a lot more interesting to her. And much to my pleasant surprise she was a big fan of Cigar Magazine and had read many a story of mine. Whoa, get the hell outta here… no one this breathtaking has ever told me they were a fan of my work… most of my fans wear 3X guayaberas while hooked up intravenous to a bottle of 12 year old single malt. I was speechless.
And before I could get another word out of my dumbfounded, smoke-filled face, she said, “Oh, my husband is coming… it was just great meeting you Tommy, enjoy your cigar and the rest of the day.”
And like a puff of smoke into the nighttime air, she vanished. Wow… a truly bizarre, yet way-cool encounter on a random Wednesday evening in a cigar lover’s life. And there’s really no reason to write anything further, so, let’s just agree that we’ll meet here again next week.
DON’T MISS – The NEW JR•Cigar Catalog is out and you can read my regular column on page 98: What Really Roasts My Robusto! This issue’s story is entitled: The Ultimate Answer to saving the World (and if you love cigars, you’re gonna love where I’m headed with this one!)
I urge you to PLEASE SUPPORT Cigar Rights of America as they continue to deal with congress, the senate, and all US legislators who need to be made aware that our cigars are the best friends we know of and we will fight like hell to keep them in our lives! >>http://cigarrrights.org
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
> CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special
