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Out of the Humidor
CA Readers
From the Print Edition:
Antonio Banderas, Nov/Dec 2005
(continued from page 3)
Dear Marvin,
I recently returned from my honeymoon in Victoria, British Columbia. Fine cigars were easily accessible. Near the end of our stay in Canada, I purchased three Cuban stogies. The first, a Partagas, was delicious. I smoked it down to the last sip. The other two? That's another story.
The other two cigars, a Montecristo and a Fuente, made me angry. Well, let me back up. I was angry at myself. And angry at the U.S. government. When we were coming back across the border I was honest about possessing the Cubans, and ended up being forced to either smoke them on the spot or toss them. To add fuel to the proverbial fire, the customs agent made various statements about cigars from other countries being better and about us not wanting to support Fidel Castro.
I am angry that the U. S. government is the only one in the world that bans Cuban cigars, regardless of how they taste in comparison to any other country. I am angry that someone somewhere actually thinks we are helping human beings who live in Cuba by not buying and selling their goods. It's not as simple as fighting communism and Castro. Most of all I'm angry that the greatest country in the world has missed the boat on this one. No American should have to hide otherwise legal, good cigars from their own government.
Jon Wymer
Omaha, Nebraska
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