One Year Ago

[Da Klugs]

The doors opened up here 365 days ago. Having a family of friends in a virtual world is a concept that probably is foreign to anyone who has not experienced it. Families need homes, for many of us, our old one went “poof” 13 months ago creating a need …. for here. So here became home…. or home became here… or we moved here making it home…. Arrgh whatever, you get the point. Lost some older family members in the process, gained many new ones since the move. Like any successful family there are successive generations who continue the name and replenish the blood and energy to move forward and evolve.

The nature of a place physical, or virtual like here, determines its activity and amount of “regulars”. There is no perfect cigar board. In attempting to cater to all types of smokers we can never make every smoker happy. The key to keeping a healthy community is to attempt to create a friendly place for all to participate. Without members of varying experience willing to share and welcome new folks into the family.. there would be no new members. Without new members curious to learn and explore, the forum would get stale and over time become a closed clique.

Cigar boards are unique places for learning and sharing experience and knowledge. Hang around a bit and over time you are not just a recipient of others knowledge and experience but become a provider of what you have learned to others who are earlier on their journey. It’s the nature and inherently addictive quality of these forums, they bring out good things in each of us, in different ways. We all seem more interconnected in today’s modern world. For me, this was always a false front. It makes us more productive but not really more connected from a human standpoint. Participating and being involved in a cigar community was a dramatic eye opening experience that continues to augment and provide a connection outside of the necessary daily activities to provide and fulfill career responsibilities. I suppose all hobbies do this to an extent, ours just does it on steroids… or nicotine and lithium.

Every Inmate here should take pride in what has been created because we all contribute to what this forum is. There are a few of us… the 11 who did the software set-up and continue to act as moderators for the forum. This won’t last forever. Evolution of experience, interest and available time will require others to step up over time to fill these roles. Each of us experiences these forums in our own unique way. Very few retain high activity in perpetuity.. well maybe Tom but he’s not human.

Comparing cigar boards statistically is not really of any value, unless you are selling something. Since we don’t sell anything except a concept of brotherhood they don’t mean much here. However, everyone should take pride in a couple of them. We had more … posts, new members, new threads than any other cigar board in the past 12 months. No one else was even close. What does that mean? Dunno, probably that we are a bunch of post whores. Possibly that our collective contributions have made a place that people like to visit.

Many may think it is their posts that are their legacy on this forum. I believe that the willingness and culture of passing on experience and friendship is the ongoing and evolving legacy for each of us.

Kudos to everyone who has and continues to make this place… home.

[kelmac07]

Here, here!! Thanks to the TOE and all the members that make this place as special as it is. Defintely a home for us cigar hounds. :tu :tu

[md4958]

Cheers Dave!

:l

[elderboy02]

Dave, you sir are a cunning linguist. Very well written.

:l

[tuxpuff]

Well said...and a huge thanks to everyone for their efforts to make this such a great place!

[N2Advnture]

Excellent post Dave, thanks to all of you for taking charge and setting up CA!

[Blueface]

Happy Anniversary!

Great post Dave, as always.

[G G]

Very good post. Happy Anniversary.:tu

[Riff Raff]

Feliz cumpleanos, Cigar Asylum!

Thanks Dave. It is good to be home!

[ahc4353]

One year ago Poker sent me a link to this place. PNOON has never forgiven him. :r

Happy Birthday guys!!!

:l

(I like the birthday cake in the banner!)

[SmokeyJoe]

Well said, Dave... I feel very fortunate to have been here from day one. Thanks to you and the other 10 remarkable folks who have created a family here.

What an awesome year! :tu

[ade06]

Happy Birthday!!!

[Clampdown]

Thank you to everyone who has put their time and effort on CA.

[SilverFox]

In the beginning it is the cigars that drew us here.

In the end it is the friendship, camaraderie and community that keeps us here.

My thanks to the TOE for doing the right thing at the right time and for keeping a steady hand on the keel for the past year.

My personal thanks to pnoon and icehog3, Peter and Tom lend an ear when things seem to go squirrelly on me around here. Apparently I am high maintenance.

I could stop smoking cigars and I could sell all my gear, I doubt that I could stop coming here.

[smokeyandthebandit05]

I just wanna say thank you to EVERYONE who makes this place so great :banger:ss:l:wnr:chr

[Starscream]

Happy Birthday/Anniversary!:wo

[Conch Republican]

Many thanks to the people who started this place, those that made places for us between, and most of all - everyone who makes this a great place everyday!

[GreekGodX]

To many more years of good times, good friends and good cigars :tu

Happy anniversary. Thanks to everyone that makes this such a great place :chr

[BlackDog]

Many thanks to the Team of Eleven for making this place happen. I think we've succeeded in creating a great home on the internet.

Eleven thumbs up! :tu

[IBQTEE1]

Thank you Team of 11. Happy Anniversary.

[MedicCook]

Thank you to the ToE for giving us all a wonderful place to be.

[Don Fernando]

There is no perfect cigar board.

Cigar Asylum comes pretty close Dave, due to the moderation of the TOE and the respect and generosity of the rest of the members.

[colimo]

can't say it any better than those who came before....

thank you:l

[DBall]

This board is great, as are the people. Thank you all... :tu

[Steve]

:tu:tu :l

[Blindjimme]

Happy Birthday / 1st Anniversary TOE and everyone. I am proud to call this place home. There is not a day when this place is not a part of my life, whether it's 10 minutes or hours. The draw to come here is phenomenal and obviously felt by many. It starts with cigars and continues with friends.


I Love This Place!!

[GKitty]

Love and gratitude always for the Team of 11.

Thanks to all my brothers and sisters who've made this corner of the Interwebs home. I was a member of that other board for a year and didn't meet nearly as many of you as I did in this the first year of CA.

It took a madhouse to make this SOTL blossom. :)

It's been a trip so far and I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

[CasaDooley]

This place makes me happy!:ss

[jjirons69]

It's been a great year! I feel like a know a bunch of you better than I know some of my co-workers. This is such a great place! Thanks to all for making it happen and to the rest of us who hang around here and enjoy each other's company.

[kaisersozei]

Well said as always, Dave! Thank you to the TOE for creating this asylum, and congrats to everyone for making it a special corner of both the Internet and real life.

:chr Happy Birthday!:chr

[Mr.Maduro]

Happy Birthday CA! :hb

[icehog3]

Great post, Dave, I am proud to call you and 3026 others "friend". :)

This place makes me happy!:ss

'zactly! Happy Anniversary to Us All! :al

[Wanger]

Well put Dave!!!

Over the last year, I've met many more people from here and had a great vacation while doing so! E.L.V.I.S. in Vegas made it a complete blast out there, and I enjoyed meeting and hanging out with each and every one of you. It was great to have my wife there to share teh experiences, as well. Through this board, I've made some good friends whom I care a great deal about. I know that those friendships will continue to grow throughout the years and we will all share good times and bad times together. hopefully more good times than bad. :)

Thanks to the TOE for all of their hard work in maintaining this site and keeping an objective mind when it comes to some of the issues that have popped up over time. Keep up the great work!!!

[Skywalker]

Well said Dave!!!:tu

This asylum keeps me sane!!!

I'll take my pills now!!!:D

Thanks TOE!!!

[bobarian]

"...the willingness and culture of passing on experience and friendship is the ongoing and evolving legacy for each of us."

Thanks to all who have helped to make this such a great place. Happy Anniversary to the Team of 11 and all my CA brothers and sisters. :wo:dance:

[TripleF]

Here! Here! :chr

:l


Much respect to the founding fathers!! :tu

[TheTraveler]

One year ago I was a wet-behind-the-ears noob. Today ..... I still am. :) But I learn something every time I visit this wonderful home we've got here so I'm making progress. :tu

P.S. I really like it here. The nurses are nice to me, no one steals my blanket and I've got a nice view out the window. *sigh*

[Cigargal]

Happy Anniversary to all and a big thank you to the Team of Eleven that made all this possible. If it wasn't for the asylum I wouldn't need a computer.

[Whee]

Happy Anniversary!

[Ashcan Bill]

Excellent post Dave! Hard to believe a year has passed since so many of us sought refuge here. And refuge was exactly what the TOE gave us. We owe these guys a big thank you.

And a special thank you to the "other" Dave (68TriShield) for steering me here a year ago, as things seemed to crash and burn.

[Starscream]

It's only been a year, but I feel like we've always been here. Home is where the heart is.
Thanks to the Team of 11 and to all the members here as well for making this place so enjoyable.

[SNKBYT]

thanks for the memories and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to all and a special thanks to the ToE for giving us all a place to call home (even me)
and I finally got to chance to meet in person some great people I've got to know by calling here home:D

[Pat1075]

Well said Dave. Thank you to the TOE and everyone who has come here to make this the place that it is.

[alley00p]

Dave, that was a great summary of the Asylum! :tu

This is one of the most addictive places that I have ever been involved in! I hope it will continue on! :D

Especially when I count the many friends I have made both online and in person, because of CA! And the many good things that have come from here, like our Troop support programs!

Thanks to the TOE and to all the members here!

:l


:dance:

[TheStatsGuy]

CIGAR by Jude Forese

It was that time of year again

The phantom aroma of spice, chocolate and mild earthy tones
Permeated his memory
As he sat next to a humidor stacked with Cohiba, Monte Crisco, CAO,
And Partagas 150: quite a rare cigar,
Ripened at least 25 years

Together they formed a living mass of binders, fillers
And sun aged wrappers
Coiled around remembrances of warmer days
When his father would sit in front of the fireplace
Or out by the lake
Rolling a puro around his fingers
Puffing out a cloud of smoke
Forming a variety of archetypal shapes,
As he spoke of matters fathers usually dismiss;
Evoking mystery and wonder
In even the most simple things

It was that time of year again
When memories placed a smile on the saddest face
And transformed it into an expression of joy

Even as it yearned for a connection
To renew a heart forever broken

It was that time of year again
To rotate his father’s “babies”
And to touch his fingertips again

Rearranging each one
Admiring their supple veins
Maturing to a luxurious golden patina

It was that time again,
His father’s birthday

A celebration of existence
A reaffirmation that nothing really dies,
That everything is constantly reborn
Even in the bouquet of a fine smoke

He would commemorate
His father's fleeting moment in time
With a Partagas 150, his favorite

He recalled how he said he would smoke
These only on his birthday
Since they were so opulent and scarce

So he torched up
Inhaling its fine eloquence and subtle aroma

Surrounded by a smoky miasma
And a vision of his father’s enduring presence

And a son’s touch with class
-----------------------------

This is a great place! Thanks to those who started and those who continue to make this home away from home.

[cbsmokin]

Happy Birthday CA.

[shilala]

Thanks to everyone for being here.
It's our people that make this place remarkable. :tu
...and Tom that makes up our stats. :r

[poker]

Obviously were all right where were supposed to be :tu

[King James]

eloquently put as usual, Dave.

Happy Bday CA!!!!

[Adriftpanda]

One Year Ago... I was not on this board


I haven't been on this board as long as most of you guys here, but CA by far is the most warming of all the boards I've been on. When I posted my introduction, I didn't know I was going to get 3 pages of welcomes. Within the first month I was invited to herf with the some of the BABOTL! That's when I knew this place was not like any other boards I've been on. I have never seen people beef with one another on the threads and if so, it was resolved rather quickly and maturely. I have met some amazing people here on CA, some I can call my very good friends. Most importantly, I realized that this is more then a community, this is a family. Thanks you to Team of Eleven and everyone else who has made CA a great ride for me. To many more years. :chr

[Don Fernando]

one year ago I would never have thought that I would go to the US for a vacation just to meet a lot of inmates. The US was never high on my "to visit" list, but now I know that I will return to that part of the world (hopefully) many many times to smoke cigars and share stories with all the friends that I made.

[DPD6030]

:l:wnr:usa:chr:ss

[14holestogie]

Obviously were all right where were supposed to be :tu

That pretty well sums it up for me. :)

Thanks to all here for making this the place it is.

[cort]

Happy Anniversary Everyone:tu (Or Birthday)

:l

[massphatness]

This place is as much a part of me as my physical home. And by extension, you are all like family with all the metaphorical references that implies.

Happy anniversary, CA!
Posted via Mobile Device

[pnoon]

When I think about where we were a year plus week ago and compare it to where we are now, I can only calmly shake my head and mutter "wow". (old age will do that to you. :))


Seriously, The TOE started out on this journey with enthusiasm and optimism. Little did we know how fast the Asylum would grow and how comfortable this place would become. Even today, as I reflect on the past year, I am in awe of my fellow admins and each and every member - including you, Al. ;)

Thanks to everyone for making CA a home.

I look forward to what the next year will bring.

[croatan]

As usual, Dave hit the nail on the head.

I feel privileged to have been involved in what I think is a very special thing.

And I can't wait until there's a thread titled "It was twenty years ago today..."

http://991.com/newgallery/The-Beatles-Sgt-Peppers-Lonel-298947.jpg

[shvictor]

Happy Birthday CA...I love this place

[floydp]

Truly honored to be a part of the Eleven and just as honored to be in the company of all the great members of Cigar Asylum. A special thanks to the nuts that fill the wards of this institution. I'd say we've had a pretty decent first year. I was onboard with what James said about 20 years until I realized how old I'd be then. If its all the same to yens I hope that 20 takes a while. :r

Well said Dave.

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

Honestly, thanks to all the members here and the Team of Eleven. What a great place to come and share a common passion for cigars:tu

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

A lot going on in one year....

Totals:
Inmates-3,034
Threads-19,770
Posts-581,370

[kayaker]

Thanks to the TOE and all my SOTls and BOTLs. It has been a great year and I look forward to many more.

Keep up the great work.

:l

[ucla695]

Well said! Thanks to the Team of 11 and everyone here for helping make this a great home!! :chr

[yourchoice]

Instead of an all encompassing thank you....

Dave, thank you.
Dave, thank you.
Dustin, thank you.
Frank, thank you.
Gerry, thank you.
James, thank you.
Julian, thank you.
Kelly, thank you.
Mo, thank you.
Peter, thank you.
Tom, thank you.

(In alphabetical order. :))

You all should be proud of what you started and what it is becoming.

Happy Anniversary to all of my BOTL and SOTL friends.
:l

[awsmith4]

:chr

Heres to a fantastic year and many more to come!

Thanks TOE!!!!!!

[Cenookie]

Thanks goes out to the TOE, like that line in the Wizard of Oz "There's No Place Like Home". I think it was the Wizard of Oz:r.:l

[LasciviousXXX]

Happy Anniversary CA Fam :tu

You guys make this place what it is ;)

[Fishbeadtwo]

Great post Dave! A huge thanks to the ToE for what they have done for all us nut jobs....Happy Anniversary CA!

[skullnrose]

Happy Anniversary ! Special thanks to the TOE for making this all possible and keeping this place INSANE.

[M1903A1]

One year ago I was trying to digest the news of The Jungle's sale, knowing it wouldn't be the same anymore...realizing a great community was about to disappear and wondering where the hell I was going to go.

Then I got a PM from one of the 11 with the simple title "Psst" and a linky inside...and then I knew.

Thank You and Happy Anniversary to the ToE and all here who've made the Asylum a second home!

[dccraft]

Happy anniversary everyone :l:tu