Today saw Joe K, Peter G, Ed B, Steve B, and myself all enjoying Lou's good cheer. As the S-CHIP tax date draws near, Lou's blood pressure notches a little bit higher as he explains for the umpteenth time to a customer why the price of their cigars and tobacco is going up.
James K, Joe's son, is certainly expecting a big party when he arrives in May. Apparently he called Joe requesting the Hawaiian Tropic Girls be present at The Tobacco Hut. And he stressed that he wanted the real thing, not - in his words - "Bob in a bikini or Lou in his Speedo." Well, James, I'm not sure what the appearance fee is for the Hawaiian Tropic Girls, but something tells me we're going to have to scale back a bit. Maybe we can only afford one of them. Probably the only thing we can truly afford is pictured below. Sorry James.
We definitely need some women in the shop (Sue Ann, are you listening?), because for a few minutes the discussion turned to erectile dysfunction. A couple weeks ago it was proctology, now E.D....enough!
I loaded up my Ser Jacopo with some Maltese Falcon and had a delightful smoke over the course of the afternoon. The weather was warm and breezy and the day probably should have been spent working around the yard, but this was far more enjoyable.
A lot of the discussion centered around how New Port Richey has changed over the years, especially with Steve, Ed, and Lou present, all having grown up here or spent a long time in the area. Not all the changes have been for the good, but for the most part, the city is still a nice place to live, especially with a great little cigar shop to hang out at like the Hut.
Toward the end of the day we saw Lou in all his glory as an older couple came in to inquire about some sort of tobacco purchase - I wasn't clear what - and then started ranting about the price increase. After Lou patiently (and I use that term loosely) explained that the increase is due to a federally-mandated tax, they finally left after about ten minutes without buying anything and Lou could barely contain himself. But we finally got him calmed down. There may have been some reference made to the woman resembling Sea Biscuit, but I can't be sure.
There will be no report from me next Saturday as I'll be in Venice for the weekend. Venice, Florida, not Venice, Italy, I'm afraid. But it will still be nice to get away for a few days. I'm hoping that smoking is allowed on the grounds of the B&B we're staying at, so I can enjoy at least a cigar while I'm there.
See you in two weeks!
- Bob
P.S. James, we took up a collection for your party's entertainment, and this is all we could afford:
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