02/08/2024
Cigars and Tractors
One Saturday before Easter in 1969 my dad hired a neighbor with a tractor to come and disc up his 10 acres and prepare the ground to plant strawberries. Our neighbor was named Mr. Frank, best I can remember, and he was a good friend of my dad. That morning stands out in my memory very vividly, watching my dad and Mr. Frank work the field on the tractor and I was intrigued because he smoked cigars. I had never seen anybody smoke a cigar before and I was really interested in it so when the day was almost over I worked up the courage to ask my dad, “Do you think I could try Mr. Frank’s cigar?”.
My dad and his friend had a really good laugh and I wasn’t sure why, but I laughed with them anyway. Mr. Frank lit a fresh cigar and handed it to my dad and my dad gave it to me and said,
“Go ahead son, give it a try.
So I took a big puff and spent the next few minutes coughing and trying to breath. That was the first and last time I ever smoked a cigar.
When my mom found out that night that I was smoking…well let’s just say she was not happy with me or my dad.
