Cigar Aficionado

Dear Marvin,
Last Christmas, my husband, Dave, began receiving Cigar Aficionado from our good friend Lou Miele, who lives in Florida. Lou is an avid and knowledgeable cigar smoker so we knew this was an outstanding gift. We were not disappointed. It is a classy magazine and we like your choice of topics and pictures used in your articles. Your article on your day with Tiger Woods brought home some memories. My husband has been part of Tiger Woods's security team for the last four years at the Buick Invitational in San Diego. He is looking forward to another one. Watching Tiger play for the last four years influenced me to take up golf, and my husband to return to it. I could really relate to your story. It is also good to hear that Tiger smokes an occasional cigar. Continue with your super magazine. Looking forward to future issues.

Lauretta Johnson
San Diego, California

 

Dear Marvin,
While reading your editorial, "A Cigar Smoker and Proud of It" (August 2005), I came across a sentence about President Bush and his cigar smoking. You went on to say, "We've never seen a picture of him with a cigar. But trust us. We know. And a lot of his close friends know, too. He just doesn't want anyone else to know." So with that I did a bit of detective work and came up with American Soldier by Gen. Tommy Franks. All a person has to do is read pages 278—279. Yes sir, the president is one of us. As president, you certainly need a form of relaxation, and a cigar fits the bill. Now the question is: what type of cigar does he smoke? I wonder if he gets Havanas through a diplomatic pouch as President Kennedy used to. That would take a real bit of detective work. Keep up the good work.

Bob Blauvelt
Tappan, New York

 

Dear Marvin,
I am a happy subscriber to your magazine. The reason for writing this letter is to let you know that due to the recent victory of Initiative 901 in Washington state, we no longer will be able to meet, socialize and enjoy our cigars in public. No more smoking in public whatsoever, no exceptions, sorry, nada, nil, zilch, you lose. And if you must smoke, you need to do it at least 25 feet away from any public facility. Washington now has the nation's harshest antismoking laws and includes cigar lounges that are self-contained, have their own air filtration systems and do not threaten or affect anyone outside of the cigar smokers. The laws went into effect on December 8. As outraged as we are, we plan to carry on and conduct our social cigar gatherings at private residences until we can at least amend the current laws to allow cigar lounges.

John Marioni
Seattle, Washington

Editor's note: John, read our editors' letter this issue. It is tougher and tougher to find places to smoke, but others, like you, aren't giving up.