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Pet Peeves: The Beggar

While taking a break from a busy few weeks of making laser engraving projects (clocks, plaques, framed pictures) and slowly adjusting to my new work schedule, I started thinking of different things that irritate me. Yeah, there’s a lot of them, so I figured I would focus on just the cigar ones. So here goes.

We all have pet peeves, and yes, they all irritate us. This is the first installment of a little series on pet peeves, where I will discuss issues that irritate us in the world of cigars, what causes said issue, and if there are any remedies.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for today’s peeve, the beggar, better known as dry beggars. Is there really anything more irritating than a dry beggar? For those who are new to the term, a dry beggar is someone who joins groups, or even sometimes in person, goes around begging for free stuff.

For example, one might say “Oh woe is me, I am low on cigars and I can’t afford to by any, could someone donate some to me?” That is the most common type. To me, cigars are a luxury, and if I can’t afford to buy cigars, then I simply go without. Its not that complicated.

Another way that some people dry beg, is under the guise of a cigar reviewer. I know of a person who was going around to cigar shops, handing out business cards he made, saying he’s some great and wonderful reviewer who is read by thousands of people, and that he should be given free cigars to “review”.

The truth is, that person was banned by just about every cigar group on Facebook, has been kicked off of cigar review sites, and was read by virtually 17 people. Then there’s the stories he’d tell, about how horrible his life was because he ran out of cigars and had to *gasp* go to a gas station to buy a cheap cigar. As expected, no one really cared, saw through his nonsense and never gave him anything.

Sure, we all fall on hard times, and we all can’t afford to buy $50 cigars, but not all of us cry and whine, throw a fit and act like a three year old who wants a cookie. A solution to this incredibly annoying peeve? Not much really other than ignore and report them.

As cigar smokers, most of us have a certain level of class and respect, we are like a family, brothers and sisters. But like all families there is always that one moron you’d wish would be abducted by aliens so he or she could go bother someone or thing for a change.

In this case, be the better person and do not lower yourself to their level. Let them beg, cry, whine, hold their breath until they pass out, after all we are all better than that. Until next time, and another pet peeve, relax, have a beverage, and keep the smoke clouds rolling.

~Joe~