PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

A football. That’s what I went to buy once with my father, and yet this is not about a football at all. “It’ll be fun.” I said. Jokingly I added, “We’ll have a father-son bonding experience, share some ice-cream, exchange stories.” And then my grandfather said one of those things that I’ll take to my grave. “The only thing a father and son should be sharing is a pair of fine cigars and a bottle of whiskey.” I turned to look at him. Rich Cuban smoke was leaving his mouth in a plethora of shades of gray and odors. He sat in his chair looking out towards his yard as he does every Saturday after lunch: Romeo y Julieta in one hand, Jack Daniels Single Barrel in the other, deep thoughts in his experienced eyes. He sits in his Brook Brothers based outfit, sometimes alone sometimes with my company, smokes his smoke, drinks his drink, and contemplates. He knows what it means to appreciate things. Sure, he grew up in a privileged home with loving parents but when he was 17 he had to drop out of school and work and work and work. He went back to school later and finished. Finished his undergraduate career at ITESM, post-graduate at IPADE, then went on to Georgetown, Texas A&M during the summer. This man, who gets up at 7:00AM every single day of his life knows a thing or two about working, and his cigar and whiskey remind me of that. They remind me that these pleasures of life are only worth it if they have been earned. Through his true passion, his cattle ranch, he exemplifies these values around the house and out on the range. Of course, he works for much more than a cigar and a drink, but I think these remind him of what he has accomplished so far and what I know he will be able to accomplish post-mortem through my actions. This man after all has taught me so much, and all through sitting together and enjoying these pleasures of life. We sat together as we so often do one afternoon and although I have not yet started smoking cigars I am a man of whisky (albeit a single a malt man, contrary to his love for Tennessee Whiskey.) We talked about life, ideas, politics, great men. Winston Churchill came up, a man he and I both greatly look up to. “He was brilliant. The man worked ceaselessly, loved the outdoors, and led a country through war with a cigar and a glass of whiskey in hand. Talk about a great man.” I took a sip from my glass. His description sounded familiar. “Yes” I replied. “A great man indeed.”