I am writing this after herfing (is that a verb?) with a few of the brothers who are sponsoring this contest. Don't want to be entered into the drawing, but would love to pitch in on bombing the winner!
So onto what BOTL means to me. Like many others, I found this place after I had been smoking for a few months and started to get interested in the hobby beyond buying a few Macanudos or Montecristos (if I was feeling fancy) and smoking then that weekend. I found a warm welcome, some nice guys, great advice (beads), and a wealth of new information.
I posted rarely and lurked most of the time, reading and learning. Some of you guys are like walking encyclopedias! After a few months, I noticed a post for a herf (whatever the heck that was) at my local B&M. I posted some interest and Bam! that really kicked it off. Super friendly dudes (not the old guys my wife was sure I was going to meet) who were fun to hang out with, super generous, and helped out the new guy who forgot his wallet at home.
After that, I started to get more involved, did my newb trade, and was hooked. Whole new world of cigars and sizes I never heard of. Taking with others about their likes/dislikes. A group of brothers even helped me plan my vacation to a part of the country that was be to me. I entered a few contests, trades, and then OE came along. I was floored by the idea, and later the generousity that I witnessed (and was glad to be a small part of). This project gave me a sense of pride disproportionate to my involvement in it. I was glad to tell people about what BOTL was doing, and got a universal "wow, that's incredible" response - even from my mom!
So yesterday (after the PSJC herf), I realized that beyond the big picture (cigars, for me) and philanthropy, BOTL us a collection of people more than ideas. A place where you can learn, laugh, enjoy yourself, BE yourself, ... and yeah smoke some cigars while you're doing all that. Sorry, that was much longer than I expected it to be...
TL;DR version: a collection of people who I could envision myself being associated with for quite a while, cuz they seem kewl.
