Primo: A New Blog is Born

On the deck, two fingers of whiskey, and a crookedly lit cigar in my hand. There are few true pleasures in life for me and "this" is one.

After an afternoon spent mowing the lawn, there's is little more enjoyable and peaceful, than to sit back in the shade, pour myself a drink and enjoy a cigar.  Whether new or a go-to stogie, it doesn't matter. It's an exercise in active (and passive) relaxation. One cigar, one drink, maybe some jazz, all the while watching the world go by from the view of my back deck.

While mowing today listening to a book on Stoicism and how absolutely bad-ass Marcus Aurelius was, I embarked on a mental journey of all of the cigars that I have tried in my life. While balancing these two totally unrelated topics, I realized that I couldn't remember even the last cigar I smoked.

Enter Crookedly Lit!

And, yes, I often smoke a cigar that starts out perfectly and then as the experience progresses the ash takes on an angled appearance as my puffs encourage a fire that has no respect for right angles nor outward appearance. The philosophical conclusion drawn from this imperfect smoking experience? - It's still just as fabulous.

So, in the interest of record keeping and letting Google remember for me what I have smoked and imbibed, I have started this little, free, and likely never read (except by me) record. May it forever live in peace. 

Why Blogger?

Why not?

I'm historically a WordPress man. Yes, I write often though not under the the pseudonym of Daft Sage. I chose to ghost write this blog so as not to draw attention to myself, but solely on the content, which at this point is primarily cigars and whiskey.

I doubt it will rest in this two dimensional space, but for now it's a beginning. Perhaps I'll tie in thought and logic and reason and doubt and life and... (you get the point) as the blog continues to live. That is, if it continues to live. It will live or it will die. Such is the nature of all things.

Today I am Smoking a ---

LA GLORIA CUBANA ~ ESTELI

What an adorable approachable cigar. 

According to cigar.com, it is a Nicaraguan Gem wrapped in a cocoa-hued Nicaraguan Jalapa leaf with beautifully aged Honduran long-fillers beneath. 

While websites tout how this and that something is, here are my thoughts. 

I like the short time commitment. Smoking a cigar takes time and cannot be rushed. I would choose this again for those small windows of time when a cigar is wanted and time is an enemy. 

The smell was refreshing and wonderful. The taste (unlit) was pleasant yet slightly bitter and acidic. The taste was accentuated while smoking. She was a bold cigar - unapologetic. The smoke aroma was delicious and the taste was sharp.

I paired the cigar with Basil Hayden's Dark Rye. This was a smart move. If there will be a next time for the little Esteli, I need to remember to smoke it while enjoying a good whiskey. 

Now, 20 minutes later, writing this post, the fragrance isn't lost and my mouth, thankfully, doesn't taste like an ash tray or the bottom of a garbage can. I'm finishing up the Dark Rye whose ice cube has melted making it smooth and fruity. 

Thoughts from the Daft Sage

To end the beginning I should say don't be afraid to start. No matter how old (or young) you might be, no matter the excuses you give yourself, never be afraid to start something new.

It will either last a little time or a long time, but isn't any time spent doing a success?

Failing isn't measured by a length of time or a number of repetitions. Failure is simply not doing, not learning, not getting back up to do again. 

Have you ever hear the quote from Plato that discusses being afraid, afraid of the dark? It goes like this:

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; The real tragedy of life is when an adult is afraid of the light."

Now I've paraphrased it just a bit. Common translations use men instead of adult as well as a few other minor difference, but I like it this way better. 

It's easy for us to understand and be compassionate with a child if they are afraid of the dark. Should we therefor not be just as understanding when we find fears in our own life? Being afraid of the light can and should be thought of in different ways. It's meant to be pondered and applied to your fears, but today afraid of the light means not attempting something for fear of what might happen.

Fate willing our actions will have positive outcomes. It's important to understand that we don't control outcomes. We control our minds, our thoughts, and we hopefully do what we think best. What happens happens. We should learn from it and drive on. 

That's how we succeed in life, how I will succeed (to some degree) with this blog, and how I will hopefully figure out how to remember what I smoked last week!