Cigar in memoriam...
Ken Light
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,524
So my boxer, Pam, had to be put down last night after she started having trouble breathing from a large tumor...
She was living with my dad and I got the call about it this morning and after sitting down a few minutes to think about it, I decided that the best thing was to appreciate the great life she had and her natural zest for it that only dogs seem to be able to display on an everyday basis.
So I did as she always did and I went right for the good stuff. Had a glass of Johnny Walker Blue with lunch. After watching my Eagles bash up the Dolphins, I decided it was time for a cigar in memoriam. I would have done this regardless, but it seemed very appropriate because for some reason she LOVED smoke. She'd lick the air to taste it, it was nuts. So...
I don't have very many ultra-rare special occasion cigars or anything, so instead I smoked one of my better ones that I've been waiting on for a long time...Tatuaje Black torpedo that's been in the humidor since last Christmas. I think I picked the perfect cigar for the occasion. I fired it up on the back porch and then took a walk with my wife, talking here and there, but mostly just enjoying being in each other's company, enjoying the cigar, and remembering Pam. Eventually I made my way back to the porch and sat down and started talking more, mostly about what a great friend and a better example Pam has been to me throughout my life, though I'm only beginning to appreciate that now that she's gone. Zoned out a bit on the stick, but towards the final third I got a great sweet sort of flavor from the cigar that really blew me away. Truly a great experience. I don't have a great palette and I can't pick apart the experience properly, but somehow it was the perfect match for my mood today.
I'm finishing up the night now with something that brings me back to the time when I first got Pam, Maudite, an ale made by Unibroue. I was pretty dark in my last teens/early twenties, and I just kinda liked drinking something called "Damned." Now that I'm coming back to it the complexity is awesome.
Now that I've typed this all out I'm thinking maybe I should've posted it in Non-cigar related...oh well. Sorry Kuzi.
She was living with my dad and I got the call about it this morning and after sitting down a few minutes to think about it, I decided that the best thing was to appreciate the great life she had and her natural zest for it that only dogs seem to be able to display on an everyday basis.
So I did as she always did and I went right for the good stuff. Had a glass of Johnny Walker Blue with lunch. After watching my Eagles bash up the Dolphins, I decided it was time for a cigar in memoriam. I would have done this regardless, but it seemed very appropriate because for some reason she LOVED smoke. She'd lick the air to taste it, it was nuts. So...
I don't have very many ultra-rare special occasion cigars or anything, so instead I smoked one of my better ones that I've been waiting on for a long time...Tatuaje Black torpedo that's been in the humidor since last Christmas. I think I picked the perfect cigar for the occasion. I fired it up on the back porch and then took a walk with my wife, talking here and there, but mostly just enjoying being in each other's company, enjoying the cigar, and remembering Pam. Eventually I made my way back to the porch and sat down and started talking more, mostly about what a great friend and a better example Pam has been to me throughout my life, though I'm only beginning to appreciate that now that she's gone. Zoned out a bit on the stick, but towards the final third I got a great sweet sort of flavor from the cigar that really blew me away. Truly a great experience. I don't have a great palette and I can't pick apart the experience properly, but somehow it was the perfect match for my mood today.
I'm finishing up the night now with something that brings me back to the time when I first got Pam, Maudite, an ale made by Unibroue. I was pretty dark in my last teens/early twenties, and I just kinda liked drinking something called "Damned." Now that I'm coming back to it the complexity is awesome.
Now that I've typed this all out I'm thinking maybe I should've posted it in Non-cigar related...oh well. Sorry Kuzi.
Comments
Shaun
One of the best friends I ever had was a 46 lb Standard Schnauzer who liked to climb fences. That dog could jump over 5' high while standing flat footed and dead still. I swear he had hydrolic springs in his legs, and he was always thinking...conniving, really..
Every year he would manage to steal one of my shoes and go bury it in the yard somewhere. He would always wait until around the holidays, and I wouldn't find it till spring, and when I would find it I swear he would grin at me for days..
He never barked much, but he had a presence...He was MR. DOG, but with a sense of humor..
It's been four years now since he died, but I still miss that Dog.
Having a cigar after such a loss (friend, family or pet) has been a tradition of mine for the past 30 years. It's something to look forward to even at a time of sorrow. Great story, thanks for posting.
its funny how much you can learn about life by watching how a dog lives theirs.