Ted, you've convinced me ... my son has been pulling on my sleeve for some time now, to come to Boston and go to the Fens ... with the knowledge of such a cigar friendly bar in the neighborhood, how can I put him off any longer ... I dunno how I can make it this year, but think I might try ... otherwise, it'll be next year for sure.

say Ted ... drop me an e-mail when you get a chance, will you?

[email protected]

Steve, you say your son has always been a Bosox fan? How did that sit with you? Who was 'your team' during his formative years? Should my kids stray from their destiny, it will be OK for me as long as it is not a rival such as the Yanks. Since I'm football first and everything else a distant second, my greatest fear would be raising a Jets fan... Steve, there are also other great cigar friendly places to grab a brew. BB Wolfs has decent BBQ, microbrews and allow cigar smoking in the bar area. They even sell a house smoke called Elvira or something like that. But the best place is further south down here on the Cape. My back deck, where the beer is cold, the smokes are fine, and the line to the bathroom is short. Heck, who needs the sox? And you are welcome anytime.

'gater ... what an extraordinarily attractive sounding idea ... between you, Ted, my son and his mom all making a MA visit so attractive, how can I possibly say no? ... I don't honestly see a way to break away during this baseball season, but am determined to do so in '03 ... of course, your idea would work equally well in any season (that allows for use of the deck), so maybe something could be arranged sooner ...

during my formative years, major league baseball was half a continent or more away ... every kid I knew had a favorite team and it seemed as if each were different than the others. I need to learn how to do one of those font tricks here, so I can write small now ... (whisper) my first favorite team was the Yankees ... (hmmmmph) ... in the NL, I liked the Giants best ... but the Yanks lost me in the 60's and I spent a few years being indifferent, although I always disliked the Dodgers ... I see more of the A's and Giants than any other, of course, but don't have the die-hard fan attitude that comes with being a Sox fan ... I have a strong love for the game itself and enjoy seeing good ball played, no matter who's playing ... as for my kids, they pretty much picked their own favorites, much as I'd done as a kid ... I never really figured out how my oldest did it ... I think maybe it was the 75 series that really cemented him in place ... we've never given the kids any grief over their choices in that regard and it's curious that my youngest is a huge fan of ALL the teams there ... he was SO amped last fall and predicted early that the Pats were going to win the Super Bowl ... said it would be a Championship year for both the Bruins and the Sox too ... he's 1 for 2 now, with one remaining ... lol ... we'll see.

drop a note sometime when you get a chance ... [email protected]