Happy Father's Day!

     As we approach Father's Day 2011, let's talk about dads, grandfathers, uncles etc., those men most of us watched enjoying cigars when we were younger.  One of my grandfathers really enjoyed cigars, and as a kid I enjoyed watching him smoke them.  To me the smell was always great although I always heard others complaining about those "stinky" cigars.  Maybe because he was my hero, maybe because he just looked so cool, or maybe because typically whenever his friends came around they always wanted a cigar and to me that meant they were following his lead.  As a 60's child, there was still a huge allotment of Cubans floating around and my grandfather worked at the shipyards and somehow always had some.  I remember him always talking about how great they were.  I also grew up in New Orleans and for those of you that don't know, New Orleans was a leading producer of cigars in the 30's through the 60's, with at least 100 factories and shops throughout the city.  The main reason was because New Orleans is home to one of the largest ports in the world.  So it made sense, to just drop off tobacco in the city and let the magic happen.

     I vividly remember going to certain parts of the city with my grandfather on Saturdays mostly, and he would buy a box or two of cigars.  I don't recall him ever using a cutter.  He would either pinch the cap off, bite it off, or take out his trusty pocket knife and slice it off.  He also, as far back as I can remember, never used a lighter to ignite his stogies.  He kept wooden matches with him all the time.  He looked real cool to me when he would strike a match and then cup his hand over the foot of the cigar as he lit it.  He would also always, I mean always tell me, "cigars are for grown ups, one day when you have a family and can afford to, if you choose to, then you can smoke a cigar, understand?"  Some days, we'd stay in whatever shop/factory we were in while he talked to the people there and in those days it was always a bunch of men just standing around talking about the same thing every time we were in one of those places, cigars.  I just couldn't understand it, "didn't you guys just talk about that last weekend?"  Sheesh, you got your sticks grandpa, let's go.  In the 70's as a teenager, I really enjoyed those trips because those men were so used to me being with my grandfather who they called "Chappie", would now give me money, woo hoo!!! At the same time, that's when I first started to get an understanding of that whole cigar shop/factory dynamic.  It was a time for men to be men.  Remember that was the 70's so there was never a lot of women in those places other than those that came in to buy cigars for their husbands, dads etc and I would imagine some even purchased them for themselves but they never stayed around.  Not only were they talking about cigars, they were talking about politics, their jobs, strangers in their neighborhoods and things that brought these gentleman together. 

     The 70's in New Orleans was still a time of difficult racial relations, but inside these shops there were men of all races, backgrounds, ethnicity's etc.  Actually it was the first time I had ever saw a person in real life of Asian-Indian decent, as he always wore a turban when he came in, and when he walked in like most of the other gentleman, he was always greeted by each with a handshake, a smile and kind words by all as was my grandfather.  The only time I saw those gentlemen get upset with someone was when a guy who you could tell was strung out on drugs came in and starting begging for money.  Man, these men just lit into this guy, "you dope fiend, get a job", "you damn hippie", "frigging pot smoker".  I was blown away, I couldn't believe how they all felt the same way about this dude.  Once he left the shop the conversation switched to how drugs were starting to destroy the community and how they all needed to take more of a stand in the community to eradicate that environment.  The usually jovial guys were now all dead serious and discussed ways of making the community better, as they smoked away on their cigars. How great was that!

     In 1979 I left New Orleans after enlisting in the Air Force and never made one of those trips again with my grandfather.  When we would talk he would always tell me how the men at the shops were asking about me and saying how proud they were that I was serving the country.  When he shared those sentiments with me, I always had a warm feeling as I really respected all of those gentlemen.  Even though, most of those places had since been closed or relocated to other places, those that were there became more of a gathering place from what he would tell me.  Occasionally, he would say you remember Mr. So and So, that worked at the bank, well he died and honestly those times made me sad, because I knew it made him sad.  Losing a cigar friend, and maybe just realizing his own mortality, then almost always he would ask if I had started enjoying cigars yet.  Well, I was an athlete and just didn't want to start smoking cigars, so I would tell him I hadn't and he would tell me, if it's for you, you'll decide.  What I later figured out was that he was passing on a valuable piece of life to me.  He was attempting to get me to a place where people with all kinds of differences met and came to conclusions that would solve some of the world's ills.  And a place to get together with friends and talk about the leaf. 

     In 1984, my son was born and I purchased a box of King Edward "It's a boy" cigars at the base Exchange to hand out to the guys I was stationed with in Germany.  I had no intention of smoking one, just wanted to hand them out to announce the birth of Gregory II.  That's when I was first introduced to smoking a cigar the right way.  I'll save that story for another time on my blog.  But after that lesson and my first cigar, I called my grandfather and told him and you could hear it in his voice.  His first born grandchild was truly becoming a man and maybe, just maybe was becoming a cigar fan.  I returned to the states in 1986 and when I visited home, I was only there for a few days and didn't have a chance to enjoy a stick with my grandfather as it was my first time home in about 5 years, although I promised him the next time I came home it would be for a longer period of time and we'd enjoy a cigar or two and maybe even visit one of the cigar shops he was now frequenting. 

     In March of 1988 I received a call from my family saying my grandfather had fallen ill and things weren't looking good, subsequently within a week he had passed on.  I was devastated needless to say and made the trip home for his services.  During the time I was there, my grandmother was going through his things, getting rid of some of stuff and keeping others for her memories of him.  He had many fine suits and although I'm much taller than he was, I asked if I could have a few of them.  As we went through some of them, checking the pockets for money (he was notorious for leaving money in his suits), we came across some cigars in one of the suit jacket pockets and my grandmother figured they had to have been there for quite a few years.  It was amazing that they were still in tact.  I thought because the suits had been packed away for years and with the humidity in New Orleans they kept them all in one piece although they were dry as the Nevada desert.  As I looked at the cigars and thought of him, I could only think about promising him that I would smoke a cigar with him one day, and I didn't live up to my part.  I got caught up in my military life and other things and just didn't do it.  I took those cigars and put them in a plastic bag and kept them.  I also went to a local cigar store and that night after the burial I sat outside at his house where family and friends had gathered and enjoyed a cigar in his honor. 

     Every year for Father's day since, that's my ritual, I fire up a fine premium cigar in honor of Walter "Chappie" Ceaser.  My son Gregory II is 27 now and he smokes cigarettes and I'm working on converting him hoping to have a cigar "moment" or two with him soon, so I can tell him more stories about his Great-Grandfather.  So this Father's Day, if your dad, granddad, uncle brother, whoever is around fire one up and honor those folks, and if that person is not around fire one up in their honor.  Also, the next time you're in your favorite smoke shop, remember it's not just about the cigars, it's about us and what can each of us do to better ourselves, our community and our world.

     Happy Father's Day!  CLP (clip, light and puff)  (___@_______]]]]]~~~~