Saturday, November 24, 2012

Remember the time...

Dark smokey room. All I can see is the cherry red ember on the tip of my colleague's cigars. I didn't even notice when the waitress laid my Scotch on the rocks (Macallan 12) on the table next to me. The only other bright light came from the big screen TVs on the wall broadcasting Arizona vs Arizona State. It was a table for 4 with 2 of us sitting across from each other. It reminded me of the scenes in That 70's Show when they smoked weed in Eric's basement. Two of the guys I've known for almost 20 years and the 3rd was a friend of a friend who although I recognized his name from Facebook was only my first time meeting him.


We all wore black as if we had agreed upon uniformity in dress prior to our meeting. We were all well groomed and seemed to be comfortable in this environment. An untrained eye would say we were regulars. Young wealthy men with a sense of fashion, good taste in libations and cigars. Macanudo Hyde Parks were our choice of puro for the evening. There were pricier selections available but for the money it was smooth and mild enough for a non-smoker such as myself to handle it with ease. After a long week of work, I was ready to relax.

As the evening progressed these men of the world discussed several topics. Ranging from law to travel to sports and even the eminent death of boxing great Hector "Macho" Camacho. One of them announced that he was ready to make a huge change in his life. As friends we toasted to his future and wished him the best. Another lamented decisions of the past and made predictions of his fate without knowing what the future held. We talked about work, women, and everything else that makes a man get out of bed every morning.

Later on in the night an "Original King of Comedy" arrived in the place. He was joined by an entourage of fair weather friends and tag-alongs. There was an attractive young women flanked by an older women, who I could only guess was her mother. The guys kept speculating that she was a groupie and was waiting to be invited back to the comedian's hotel room. Then there were several men in different eras of their lives. One older gentleman in a tux with a head of gray hair. Very friendly with the "groupie's" mother. Everyone had a martini or a wine glass and a fine cigar in their hand, probably financed by the comedian. For his entertainment they would laugh at all his joke. At one point one of the younger men, who would not leave the comedian's side broke into a rendition of Happy Birthday to You for one of the older women sitting in the group. I'm not sure if the man in the tux wanted to show off or was inpsired by the spontaneous concert, that he followed up with his own soulful rendition.

Later the first guy started singing This Christmas by Stevie Wonder for no apparent reason. At the whim of his sponsor, I would wager. The comedian may have mentioned how much he liked that song, so as a duty to his host, he may have felt obligated to serenade him. One of the guys in our group wanted a picture, so we all got up and asked for one. He shook all of our hands and even cracked on me. I'm a big boy and so he tells the guy taking the picture to use a wide angle lens. I smirk and tell he's so stupid in a mocking manner as to say I'm not offended but it's not that funny. I did like his material when he was on Comic View and The original Kings of Comedy, so I have a minor level of respect for him.

All in all it was a good night with friends. I was able to try something new and add another "Remember the time..." story to my repertoire.

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