My wife sent me to Indianapolis for a Nub Cigar event as a birthday gift this year. It was an incredible day! In attendance were Sam Leccia, the creator of Nub Cigars (and a flat out great guy), and Jose Oliva of the Oliva family, the makers of Nub and Oliva Cigars. I came away with a box of 464 Cameroon Nubs signed by both Sam and Jose, and a few other goodies. The cigars were great, and having a day to myself was great, but the best part of the day was toward the end when Jose Oliva sat next to me, and we started chatting.

Jose Oliva is a member of the Oliva family which produces some of the finest cigars in the business. Oliva cigars are rolled in Esteli Nicaragua and are sold at any worthwhile tobacconist. Jose lives in Miami Florida, and represents the Oliva family in the states. He rubs shoulders with some of the most famous men in America in the course of his work and charity activities, men like Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marvin Shanken, Francis Ford Coppola, etc. He told me a story about drinking a glass of wine from a bottle that was won at auction for $30,000 (I think by Marvin Shanken, but I’m not sure) during the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s, A Night To Remember. I asked him how it was, and he said, “It was wonderful! Someone gives you a glass of wine that cost $30,000, and all objectivity is gone.”

So here I am talking with Jose Oliva about family (he is about my age, and has two kids), politics (he is what I would call conservative, and studies history with a passion), and of course cigars, when finally my favorite subject is brought up and we start talking about Jesus. We talked for a long time about the church and its relationship to science, marriage, wealth, and a bunch of other areas. It was simply one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. Birthdays come and go, but this year has been the best one in my 32 years.