San Juan-.Wish You Were Here

Ed Reif during a visit to Old San Juan

Foreign Land · Old San Juan

Oh, by the way, which one’s Pink?

Third-hand smoker, second-hand smoker—I graduated today to first-hand smoker.

“When I was in San Juan, I experimented with cigars a time or two, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t inhale and never tried it again.” Ed Reif
01

The Threshold

One cigar. One willing accomplice.

A small transaction in Old San Juan becomes a first-hand field note.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Pedro Pablo Peña, from Old San Juan, who took a chance on an unknown vegan endurance athlete with off-the-chain VO2 max scores and sold him his first El Borinqueño cigar.

Acceptance Speech

I accept the Philip Morris Throat Kazoo Newbie Award in the COPD tobacco category in the name of all those who have given their time, money, and lives to the industry!

02

Video Dispatch

The evidence from San Juan

The original Flash player has been replaced with a responsive, Blogger-safe YouTube embed.

Old San Juan · Field Recording

First-hand smoke, preserved without Flash

The video scales to the width of the post on desktop, tablet, and mobile.

The Asymmetric Equation

Third-Hand Smoke + Second-Hand Smoke + One El Borinqueño = A First-Hand Story

Old San Juan supplied the cigar. The disclaimer supplied the alibi.

The Elixir

Experience becomes story when the evidence survives.

One photograph. One cigar. One responsive video.

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