Cigars have become a passion of mine in the past ten years.  I am a very casual smoker -- something like 5 or 6 a week in the summer and maybe 2-3 per week in winter. I tend toward the maduros because I like the hint of sweetness I get from them. I haven't found too many that I hate, but I especially enjoy Arturo Fuente, CAO America, Hemingway Opus X, Cusano, Padron, Old Henry, Bolivar...oh heck, almost all of 'em!

The best part of cigar smoking is the brotherhood. I have made more friends through smoking cigars than almost any other portion of my life. I have found cigar smokers to be the most loving, caring, giving bunch of guys. Of course, they love dealing out the crap too, but all in good fun.

I only have a desktop humidor and I try to keep it full. With the Michigan economy the way it is, that's not easy these days!

I've organized a couple of "herfs" or cigar get-togethers for a bunch of guys and they've as far as 180 miles to be there. Online acquaintances like chubno, paint and andex have become real friends to me -- some I have met in person and some I am still looking forward to meeting.

My neighbor Rene and I get together regularly in the summer to enjoy a stick or two and I've been known to spend Friday nights watching and listening to the Dogwatch Cigar guys, Bob McDuffy and Dale Rousch, record their weekly Dogwatch Cigar Radio  podcast.

I also listen to podcasts called "Stogie fresh 5" with David Diaz (AKA Doc Stogie Fresh), Blowin' Smoke" with Rob Heming and his cast of Cretins and "Cigar Alliance" with Chris Trotter -- as well as a few others.

The current effort to make Michigan "smoke free" without exempting current legal businesses such as cigar shops, cigar lounges, cigar bars, etc. is a joke.  I am working with Chris McCalla of IPCPR to contact legislators and other cigar smokers to get this exemption passed.

Comparing cigar enthusiasts to cigarette smokers is like comparing a wine connoisseur to the wino who lives under a bridge.  It is a completely different thing.

If you haven't tried cigars yet, give it a shot. We don't inhale and cigars are a very, very small risk. In fact, several studies show cigar smokers are in better health and live longer than non-smokers. I think that's due to the fact that you don't eat while smoking a cigar, and it's real hard NOT to relax as you sit back, watch the world go by, and enjoy a cool beverage or cup of coffee while your cigar smoke gently wafts away in the night air and paints pictures in the sky.