It’s My Cigar-Blogging Annversario!
First off, how about starting with a sincere congrats to Tommy Z and the good people here at JR as this marks the 3rd Anniversary of JR Cigars Blog with the Zman!!! Yeah, that’s right, I have been poisoning your weekly reading for 36 straight months now and it really is a beautiful thing for one and all!
I’m going to go back to a blog I wrote very early on in the first few months of its existence about my frustration with the local McDonalds here in my town in north Jersey. I ranted on about the fact that the ladies who worked there barely spoke a word of English and just ordering at the drive-thru was like being a real live part of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine. Now I can assure you, it is NOTHING at all against Hispanic people. Being in the cigar industry, the Hispanic folks I have met are some of the warmest and most wonderful peeps on the face of the earth. Their culture puts a high regard on family and friends while making even gringos like me are an important part of their universe.
Since that time, three years ago, the ladies have gained a better grasp of the native language and all has been honky Dory as my occasional breakfast orders have been just peachy. So, fast-forward to today. I just happen to really like the taste of 
McDonalds coffee and I’ll forgo the convenience of the local deli (whose java could be confused for soapy dish water) and wait on a line of ten friggin cars for some premium McD’s roasted beans. I know this is gonna be a serious wait, so I break out a Siglo Limited Reserve robusto and spark up what you might refer to as a real happy meal! Ah, Nicaraguan and Dominican filler with that rich Sumatra wrapper is toastier than a buttered croissant, as aged tobacco aroma permeates the morning air. I can tell by the faces being made from the soccer-mom sow in the Suburban behind me, that there isn’t great appreciation for my smoky stick, but tough mierde, I say, as God created the “up” button on power windows for a reason.
As 15 minutes or so draws past, and my car only two from the drive-thru, there is a knock on my window. I turn my head to see that it’s one of the woman from the store, apparently outside on her break. Okay…am I gonna catch shit for smoking? Um… no… quite the contrary.
“Amigo, that see-gar, eet smells so gooood!”, she says with a big smile on her face. “Everyone inside can smell eet and wee weesh you could come een-isde and smoke!”
Alright… you and I know quite well that this kind of shit just doesn’t happen anymore. In a world full of namby-pamby, politically correct do-gooders, it is rare to find someone who doesn’t condemn you to hell for exuding your love for premium long-filler tobacco. She tells me that she is indeed Cuban and works with another Cuban friend and two gals from Santiago in the Dominican Republic.
“Gracias!”, I said with sheer fervor, as the gal who once butchered my orders was now my new bestest pal!
As I pull the car up to the window, three smiling amigas stick their heads out to catch a whiff of my fragrant stogie and tell me that they have been enjoying the aroma for the past twenty minutes. (Wow, this is like a dream for a guy who usually gets brow beaten by the aggressive pricks of the world who feel they know what is best for my life.) So after they hand me my coffee, I take a big old billowing puff and blow it into the drive-thru window as the ladies let out a belly-laugh. I’m sure the patrons inside weren’t too fond of getting a taste of Nicaragua with their Egg McMoofins, but it was worth it seeing these ladies so giddy and happy on their job!
So. a very wonderful experience was had by me this morning, and all just in time to commemorate the glorious anniversary of JR Cigar Blog with the Zman! I couldn’t have asked for a better start to any day! Smoke ‘em cuz ya gottem my brutha’s and sistas of the leaf!
And you have a good one, too, comprende?
Tommy Z.
JR Cigars Blog With the Zman
