kroger mob, 9/11 and cigarsBy: Darrell Castle

Every afternoon at the Castle household, my wife and I partake in “James Hour.” This “James Hour” (typically longer than an hour) is a time of fellowship with friends and family while indulging in some cheese, sausage and drinks. Great conversations always arise from this time, and I want to share some of the conversation with you. That’s why you can expect a weekly “James Hour Conversation” post in which I discuss some hot-button issues in the community and nation. Please take this opportunity to comment back your thoughts on the discussions.

Where Was I When The World Trade Center Was Hit on 9/11?

When I first heard about the attacks, I was getting dressed for work. I typically make it a policy to not watch the news in the morning or before I go to bed, but a friend called me and told me I needed to turn on the TV right then. When I turned it on, the first tower had already been hit the I watched the plane fly into the second tower. Never forget.

What Does the Kroger Mob Incident Mean for Memphis?

Hopefully it means nothing for Memphis, but I suspect that to not be the case. Maybe you can call it a loss of innocence or something like that. We look around Chicago where things like this happen often while Memphis is often criticized for our history of violence, but in reality, things like this don’t happen here. Now we can’t say that.

It should, and probably will, make people aware that this type of danger exists and it’s one more thing to think about. Why people want to make their city, the place they have to live, a more dangerous and unpleasant city is still a mystery to me.

The country is already jumpy about terrorism and that sort of thing, and now this is just an add-on.

Why I Enjoy Cigars

If you know me, you know two things – I love my Memphis Tigers and I love my cigars. I’ve talked about the Memphis Tigers enough (for now), so let’s talk about cigars.

Cigars are a form of relaxation. It’s not like cigarettes – it’s not something you’re addicted to and constantly trying to stop the addiction because it controls you.

People who enjoy cigars do so for a reason – they’re an element of time and they’re sized accordingly. A Robusto is an hour of your life.

And you don’t go outside of your office to have a quick cigar break like you would a cigarette. It’s not a spur of the moment thing – it’s something you do when you have the time for it.

Cigars are like wine in a way. You can go into a gas station and find a bottle that says wine on it, but that’s much different than going to a wine store and getting a nice bottle of wine.

The same is true for cigars – you can go into a pharmacy and find cigars, but they aren’t really cigars. For example, any cigar store keeps their cigars in a humidor. Why? Because if they don’t they’ll dry out and no one will buy them.

Cigars aren’t kept in humidors in drug stores. Why? Because they’re sprayed with chemicals to keep them from drying out.

Cigars are relaxing.


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