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Home > What's New > Two Minutes for Cigar Smoking
Two Minutes for Cigar Smoking
Posted: Monday, January 12, 2004
By Michael S. Marsh I'm not going to apologize if it seems as if I'm beating a dead horse here, because I'm sure every New York City cigar lover will back me up. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's smoking ban stinks to high heaven. Worse than any suit after a night of carousing at the Big Smoke and worse than any nonsmoker will have you believe that secondhand smoke does. Unfortunately, things have gotten worse since July, when the ban drove us out to the sidewalks. Now it's the dead of winter, and arctic conditions are by no means suitable for outside smoking.
Needless to say, you can imagine my delight when I was invited to Princeton, New Jersey, a few weeks ago for a high school hockey tournament. A good friend of mine is a coach for a team out of Buffalo, and while I knew it was a chance to see him and some other friends who were making the trek, I also knew it was a chance for a few smokes. That's right, there is no smoking ban in Jersey.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at the rendezvous point -- a local bar and eatery -- I immediately noticed signs posted throughout the place: "No cigar smoking allowed." Typical, I thought.
Soon after my friends arrived, along with many of the Buffalo players' parents, the drinks began to flow as did plenty of conversation and laughter. It wasn't long before my buddy, Jeff, called for a cigar from the stash that I'd brought. I agreed. The time was right for a smoke. Forget the "No Cigar" sign.
A few minutes later, six or seven people were smoking cigars, and dare I say, not causing anybody in the bar any trouble or discomfort. In fact, the cigarette smoke was already so thick that I would argue that the aroma of our cigars was actually benefiting the place.
But no matter. It didn't take long before the bartender came over. To his credit, he explained that the law might not be fair, but that we had to put out our cigars. Reluctantly, we let the cigars burn out, but kept them close. I, for one, was not about to let a great cigar go to waste.
Now here's where things got interesting. The next thing I know, in walked Tony McKegney, the second-round draft pick for the Buffalo Sabres in 1978, with a cigar in hand and the scars of a 13-year National Hockey League career on his face.
McKegney's son plays on the Buffalo team in the tournament, and I quickly got an introduction. I relit my cigar (along with everyone else -- who's going to mess with a pro hockey All-Star?) and we fell into conversation. He learned that I work for Cigar Aficionado and he wanted to talk cigars. All I wanted to know about were old NHL stories, and the days when I was a die-hard Whalers fan watching him as a visiting player at "The Mall" in Hartford, Connecticut. This didn't last for long, however. The bartender soon arrived -- again -- and told us we needed to put out the cigars.
Now, all you hockey fans know that McKegney had a knack for the back of the net and, though he may not have been a true fighter, he could throw verbal volleys with the best of them and his win-at-any-price attitude was legendary. It was in that split second that I pictured McKegney, the cigar smoker, react the way a hockey player might if he was being checked into the boards all night.
McKegney dropped his gloves and stood toe-to-toe with the bartender. He led with a right, the bartender missed with a left and McKegney followed with a haymaker that made the barkeep's knees go weak. By the time the zebras step in, the bartender had his shirt over his head and was in a pile on the floor, picking up his teeth. McKegney, victorious, grabbed his cigar and continued smoking.
Of course, I only wish it had happened that way. Instead, the antismoking referees sent us all to the penalty box. The sidewalk. The penalty?
Two minutes for cigar smoking.
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