Ok, now that he's mailed the box and it's well out of Texas, it's probably safe for me to tell you a "Mickey story"
I started reading alt.smokers.cigars (ASC) in the 2nd half of May of this year, and lurked there for, oh... it must've been 3 or 4 minutes before I started posting my inane stupid newbie questions (you know: what should you do if your humidor goes up to 72%?, whats the best cigar?, how far in do you snip?, etc...
) and causing no end of trouble.
Coincidentally, Mickey started reading ASC at about the same time (right, Mickey?), although he'd been smoking regularly for much longer than I had.
Well, one thing led to another,and Mickey recognized a fun-loving trouble-maker when he saw one ("takes one...", and all that), and we fast became on-line friends, asking our questions and making fun of the sticks in the mud who were too proud to admit that they didn't know, either.
Then, one day, I get an e-mail asking for my snailer -- seems Mickey's got a bunch of cigars that taste good, but are too strong for his pallate. Ok, so I send it, and next thing I know, I'm getting box after box of cigars from this very generous stranger.
Ok, it probably didn't hurt that, using my psychic powers, I was able to determine that he and I grew up infected by many of the exact same memes and, hence, it is as if we've known each other for several decades.
So, one thing leads to another, and Mickey's sending me another box of cigars -- just for the hell of it. Then another...
At first I think "mental note: send Mickey some cigars, some day." After the 2nd box, I think "ok, make it some GOOD cigars..."
Then I start getting ISOMs (I'd been whining in ASC about how I'd never had one <G>), and eventually I have to tell the guy "hey! Quit sending me stuff, I can't afford the karmic-debt!"
(When you're like me, you spend a lot of time riding the karmic fence, and have to be careful about accumulating too much karmic debt, lest you fall over onto the wrong side and can't get out :lookup: )
Anyway, I got him back by finally sending him a few pretty good cigars and a bunch of books I thought he'd like, one of which he still talks about, so THAT's satisfying!
I hope to meet him someday and pour a beer down his^W^W^W^W buy him a beer -- but now he tells me I have to hitchike halfway across the country to do it, so it might be a while. Either way, we e-mail frequently, and he's a great guy/dog -- even if he does tend to drool a bit.
Several of the cigars in the box are gifts from Mickey -- my first experience with "wow, cigar smokers sure are a generous lot!" -- so feel free to blame him for any enjoyment you might get out of this pass and/or its stories.