A moderately-popular TV actor who left for Hong Kong and China years ago was written up in the press recently. He’s back for a short-term acting stint and to see his son off to National Service. He has white hair now and looks rather different from those days when I used to see him on local TV.
How time flies.
A dear friend from New Zealand wrote to wish me happy birthday, and remarked that he’s 20 years older than me.
How time flies.
Our friends’ children have boyfriends and girlfriends now, some have gotten married. This time next year, I’ll be 60.
How time flies.
Where did all the years go?
Many years didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to, but to regret and lament is of no use. The past (and its regrets) have no basis in the present. Regrets are fine only insomuch as they keep us humble, but to dwell on them is poison to the soul. Rather, I look ahead and try to ensure that what’s left will be better than what has passed.
I must overcome my malaise, conquer my fear, tame my anxiety and paranoia and lift the veil of negativity that has shrouded me in the last few years.
Things WILL be better.
Mateens’ gift of a Churchill-size cigar (aged Dominican mixed fillers and an Ecuadoran sungrown wrapper) was a pleasant surprise on Saturday. And Landrick’s gift of a La Aurora Preferdiro Treasure Box also brought me much cheer.
True masterpieces, these cigars from the Dominican Republic are produced only by expert torcedors with a minimum of 15 years’ experience. Each of them will only make 125 cigars per day. The La Aurora Preferido is a perfecto in shape offering a balanced smoke. Each is 5 inches long with a ring gauge of 54 inches. The tobaccos are ripened and aged over a period of at least four years. One year alone is spent curing the tobacco in rum barrels. Once rolled, the Preferidos remain in the aging room for another six to eight months.
Each cigar is encased in a colorful tube; each different colored tube indicates a different wrapper leaf and a correspondingly different smoking pleasure.
Platinum – Cameroon
Gold – Corojo
Ruby – Maduro
Sapphire – Connecticut
Emerald – Ecuadorian Sumatra.
Thanks, Mateen and Landrick!