Sunday Morning Smoke

Just WHERE HAVE I BEEN!!! I DEMAND TO KNOW!!! If anyone knows where Bloof has been, One Adam 12, see the man, corner of North La Piedra de Rodriguez Mantequilla El Rey XXXI and 12th Street.

Just finished catching up on, and will make Bloofingtonian commentary on the last two posts of Vince's. Yeah Vince, go figure on the pot roast, just give the lady what she wants, smile, don't make her suspicious about anything and move on. The rest of life will be a lot easier.

One thing that's not easy is a kid with a fire engine red throat. Better the little red fire engine stays in the garage with the rest of the toys he had when he was six years old, and it doesn't get in his throat.

Indeed, I concur about flavored coffee. Give me no coffee. Same with flavored cigars.

I'm going to remember that Don Gonzales Maduro tip, Vince. When I have some money of my own, which should be In The Year 2525, I'll remember that, haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Speaking of my own, anything "my own," I did 34 ass busting hours in a little over a week on a yard work project in the parking lot of a friend's funeral home. It involved hands and knees crawling and manicuring lots of garbage including gross stuff, pruning, cutting, pulling, raking, sweeping, bagging, the works. This was in addition to other regular cleaning jobs, and the ten hours left over from what was once a fifty hour plus computer field work load. My career transition from the computer field to manual laborer is progressing nicely, and my body is sure feeling it today. It took me a while to remember my name today, as it always does when I've just been waking up and getting ready for work, thinking about work, stressing about money, not being able to do anything but think about work, hurting from the work I'm doing, all that stuff, but FINALLY, on this, the weekly Sabbath Day, I have rested, and I have read. I also have come over to check out the boards, and do a little real thinking when I type.

It was a lot of over growth in the garden area surrounding the parking lot of this funeral home, including some work on a ladder up higher than I've ever comfortably worked before. I didn't want to let my friend down, and in attempting to be appropriately grateful for the work he's given me, I'm trying to reach new heights. Hey, reach new heights, yeah, . . .

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH . . .















THUMP!!!

Well, that's not what I had in mind, and thankfully that's not what happened. But in case anyone's looking for a good laugh, I'm not just The Resident Dumb Blond(e), I'm deathly afraid of heights, like the SECOND STEP on a conventional ladder is IT for me. So, there I was on the last day of this project, praying all the way up the ladder, praying while wielding the electric hedge trimmer just inches from my face with ONE hand, higher up than I've ever comfortably been, but I finished the project to the boss' satisfaction, and even got driven home last night by the boss, after bringing me in to the private office for a shot of home made apple brandy 2005, not his, but a friendly neighbors'. Yup, I made it up to the fourth step to work, even the fifth step for a second or two, then putting one foot back down on the fourth step. I had to get up that high to do a good job, and although there were branches higher up on a couple trees that really should have come off, not even someone else up on the next to last step of the available ladder would have gotten most, so all things worked out, I'm here nursing a hurting body, and there's nothing like catching up on . . .

Ye Olde Sundae Morninge Smohke.

And yes Vince, it's difficult, but if we try hard enough, we can understand what you're Tai Ping, although spell check might be nice some day, . . .

In The Year 2525.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Folks, I've had ten years of this. Yup, it was about this time a full decade ago that I started posting, after a couple months reading conversations between Vince, Ramone2 and the many others at Cigar Aficionado, so keep reading, keep deciphering, and you'll get the hang of it. If you think Vince is bad, you should have caught Hojoschmokes at 3 a.m., half in the bag.

It's that time again. Once more, I'll be leaving very early, and am chiming in to review the last two Sunday Morning Smokes by Vince. Enriching us with tales of his sitcom life, and yet we see that he never fails to let us know about the teamwork it takes to make a good marriage. Note that "she" is the boss, but overall, Vince has no complaints, and in turn, the boss gets taken care of in every way. Every member of the team doing their job, except perhaps the grandsons, haaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!, but it all works, and wonderfully, after a decade of communicating with this great man among us.

And great translates to many topics of life. Once more, in just a few sentences, among other things, Vince has passed along valuable culinary tips which can be quite helpful, starting today. A little tip here, a little tip there, ask a question occasionally, and within a few months, anyone reading his posts can have a brand new perspective on cooking, not to mention an expanded repertoire.

I remember that 85 degree day well, Vince. It was 90 here. Not only is 90 just plain undesirable to me altogether, but to have it come so early is downright unbearable, and I'm glad that weather is gone for a while. That's why they call them SEASONS, and unseasonable weather, especially on the hot side, just doesn't agree with me. Off to do some work for a friend in my new occupation as a manual laborer, helping he and his wife get some things at their house under control, which have gone unattended for years. And who doesn't know about that? Yards, garages, attic storage, lots of things get left for years when you're a homeowner, and sometimes ya need someone to just come in and toss the place. And when it all comes back down from the sky, it's all clean and organized. So, that's another part of what I'm now doing for a living, in addition to kissing toilets and licking embalming tables, polishing furniture, mopping floors, etc. It's work, and thank God for that, any work.

Speaking of which, by the time Vince puts up today's post, I'll be long gone, and who knows when I'll be back to the boards, but it's never boring around here. Despite the dearth of posts through the past year or two, there's still plenty to read, plenty of interesting stuff here at EOTAC.

Y'know, one thing about Vince, and remember, he's something you can only find here at EOTAC. Ya gotta love a guy who goes for a double Laphroaig to wash the taste of bad coffee out of his mouth. And you have to love being in that position in life. He's not rich, not by a long shot, but Vince knows what's good. But why he insists on drinking bad coffee lately, well, I guess we'll have to stay tuned for the next episode, haw, hawwwwwwww!!! As for me, I'm off to work the body. Yeah, work the body. Most people are working keyboards for a living these days, or wishing they were. Even railroad engineers have jobs that barely resemble what they were half a century ago, never mind a whole century ago. Speaking of a whole century ago, or about the time Vince was born, . . .

Brooklyn and Queens were farms, and Broadway had a horse manure problem.

Folks, don't know when I'll be back, but God bless America, God bless you all, and I can't wait to read the next Sunday Morning Smoke, coming up in just a few hours. Don't know when I'll get to reply, but I'll probably be reading it late tonight after I get in and get settled. Have a great week, all you EOTAC people!!!

Good Morning! It is a glorious Spring morning/day here in Wilmington also. (that makes 2 in a row). I just smoked a bowl of Trout Stream while firing the smoker up for some country style ribs.

Couldn't ask for better weather. Moderate with a nice breeze and low humidity. The missus spent the day yesterday outside at the local "Scottish Games" doing a spinning demonstration (sheep to shaw) and today I get to spend the day outside with my pipe and my other smoker!

Just chiming in to say hello to everyone. I finished catching up on the Sunday Morning Smoke earlier today. On April 25th, I received a call that I knew about two or three months ago was going to come very soon. On April 28th, I flew down to Puerto Rico to take over my father's life and affairs. Without going in to all the details, I spent 16 days down there being a CEO, lawyer, realtor, overseer, medical care assistant, secretary, manual laborer, and will continue to be all of these things and more for quite some time. My father, two months away from 85, and having been mired in health difficulties related mostly to diabetes and high blood pressure, will probably die soon. He has many things wrong with him. Overall, I know he has little or no regrets, and has lived a full life. The 15 years he has been in retirement have seen him live the life he always wanted to return to, surrounded by nature. The high crime plaguing many areas of Puerto Rico and overdevelopment notwithstanding, did not drive him out altogether, as it has so many others. As such, he has left me quite a foundation to build on, as far as keeping the old family farm in the family, and perhaps turning it back in to what it once was. And what it once was, was part of the teeming agricultural paradise that Puerto Rico used to be.

In 1998 when I went down to visit my dad, just prior to Hurricane Georges, we had a one hour meeting with his attorney to discuss the dilemma surrounding land issues that my grandmother had left him with when she died in the summer of 1986. I had a vision of how things could some day be during that visit, but increasing crime after that trip, along with my father's own indecisiveness through the years, let it fall to me to see what would be done. As the years went by and my father did nothing, and perhaps began suffering early onset Alzheimer's a few years ago, I realized that the day was coming when a similar mess that his mother left to him would be left to me. It became incumbent upon me to wait patiently and not take him out of what was obviously a comfort zone for him. Some time during the middle of April, a fire of unknown origin hit the farm about 200-300 feet away from the main house, did little damage, but upset my father greatly. He was taken to a hospital that night after calling for his worker, who came along with his father and others. That night my father evidently suffered a stroke. In our last telephone conversation, coincidentally perhaps just a day or so earlier, he had expressed his own fears of having a stroke. He had circulation problems for years, worsening recently.

My father now lies in a nursing home in world famous Boqueron, a beach and resort area just minutes away from the small town below the farm. He will never walk again, and the last conversation we had was one of the last he had with anyone in this world, perhaps the very last. Although he has uttered a few intelligible words in that time, and is coherent and responsive, he cannot converse, has two kidneys in terrible shape, and a lot of other things wrong with him. We do not expect him to last much longer, perhaps to his 85th birthday, but another honorably discharged WWII is about to die. I learned more about my father's military service, which I may post in The General Discussion forum on the open boards. He never talked about anything other than that he had been part of the US Army contingent guarding The Panama Canal. As it turns out, it wasn't just standing around whistling comfortably waiting for an attack that never happened. It was a pretty rough life, and he contracted malaria, suffered some kind of attacks at night after being released from the Army, and had been a party to what was a miserable existence for all the soldiers stationed down there. There is a great picture of my father on The General's Launch in one of the Canal zones, holding down some kind of bar on the deck, perhaps a rudder, or actually piloting the boat, January 23, 1946, about five weeks before the end of his term of service.

The vision I had in 1998, of turning the old family property in to a working farm again, where cows roam, chickens play and a multitude of food and coffee trees grow, can be achieved. Although I have not been left a rich man by any means, my father built quite a foundation. With the blessings of The Lord Jesus Christ and properly managed by me, it appears that I might have the support group(s) I need as well. While I would never move down there full time, I am perfectly willing to make three to four trips a year to establish and manage a farm/food coop type of arrangement. I despise the weather, as I think everyone here knows I simply can't take the summer, but I love my family and that down home Puerto Rican cooking. With central air installed, at least in the area I would use as my quarters, I'd be very happy spending 15-20% of the rest of my life down there, attempting to push back at the attempts to pave Puerto Rico. Crime has gone down in the area around the farm, and although one can never let their guard down, the decent people have taken back the town of Cabo Rojo.

I will soon begin a case to become my dad's legal guardian, as the power of attorney written for me ten years ago is of no effect down there. Once achieving this end, I can access his account(s), stabilize my own financial existence, continue to oversee his medical care, and begin to resolve the family land issues. With that in mind, I can also begin to see the land lying mostly fallow for decades, save for some cattle, begin to produce again. A laptop with everywhere internet service is in my future, God willing, so I can read up on EOTAC and the rest of the world, as I will be shuttling back and forth to Puerto Rico on a very frequent basis for the next few months. After that, I will determine a regular schedule of visits that will give me enough time down there to work and manage affairs as they progress. I just returned on Friday afternoon, and am due back there in days. Always great catching up on Vince's doings. God bless the folks here at EOTAC, let's keep the forums going as best as we can, and maybe some day we'll ship sum yall people a few mangoes and grapefruits, along with a couple pounds of coffee. God help us in that endeavor, my family and those who have worked on our farm going back generations in their own families.

Hey Vince. It's been a long time. I had some life issues pop up that have kept me away for ohhhh. 3+ years. I'm just ckecking in here and I see the forum has not really been used in years. What's going on? Where is everyone? I know tobacco tax it on the rise, but seriously!! Fill me in?

I see you have been posting, but you seem to be one of the few. When I left there was an active forum community. Did it just dwindle? Whateer the case may be, it's nice to see a nice Sunday morning smoke.