Love Of A Good Cigar Like A Rocky Patel Spans Generations
I'm a member of one of the last remaining "old boys" style clubs in my home town. The building stands out among all the office towers downtown; a stately four story, red brick Victorian mansion that was converted to a club for prominent businessmen back in 1902. The wrought iron railings and the ivy that covers much of the brick is all original, as are the overstuffed chairs in the club's library. Mind you, the chairs aren't the only things that are overstuffed in that room. There's a trio of gentlemen who hold court there every day from just after lunch (where they order prime rib without fail), until after evening cocktails, at which point they totter out and hop into three separate limousines, which pull up to the curb just after 7pm and wait for their fares.
The youngest of the three is seventy and the elder statesman must be ninety. How they've managed to live this long after consuming that much beef every day, I'll never know. They're obviously wealthy; formally retired and they've seen the club through its best times and helped to keep it alive during the 80s when it nearly foundered. But I suspect the most stressful thing they've had to witness is the continual dropping of barriers to club membership. First the club began to accept members regardless of race, then regardless of age (so long as one could pay the hefty initiation fee and monthly dues), then faltering membership led the club to drop the initiation fee altogether and finally, in the 90s, women were granted access to the hallowed halls. Not just servers and cooks mind you, but as members.
The one vestige of the good old days that remains and I suspect this is the only thing that keeps the old gents coming back- is that the club remains exempt from the city's no-smoking bylaws. A good cigar is more than welcome in the club's library. I've had many a conversation with the trio as they sat in their reserved chairs, brandy in one hand and a good Davidoff in the other as the fireplace crackled. Actually, cigars is one of the few things I can have a decent conversation about with them, since they have no interest in computers (which form the backbone of my business), regard my BlackBerry as a glorified beeper and consider the fact that I don't wear a tie to work to be a potential sign of being communist.
When we're all sitting in a haze of fragrant smoke, it's reassuring to know there's something that connects the generations.
Lyle Hall is an entrepreneur who counts enjoying a good cigar as one of his daily pleasures. With a fondness for rocky patel, especially the vintage 1990 Churchill, Lyle considers himself somewhat of a connoisseur, although he's not above partaking in a discount cigar if he forgets to order in time to restock his humidor.
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