There is safety in numbers, so they say. I liked the men who let me join them as we sat around the Cigar emporium. I like knowing there are Job Clubs popping up to give people out of work a chance to network. And I like the fact that the SEC is being sued. They need to be held accountable.
The Cigar Story: It never quite occurred to me that men enjoy this ritual as they might fishing and hunting. “We talk, but maybe we sit here for 15 minutes before one of us says anything,” said a professor. “Women can’t do that. They need to be talking and interacting. Here we have a bond.”
This quiet friendship reminded me of a recent column that I posted by Maureen Dowd that says, “Never marry a man without friends. He doesn’t know how to be intimate.”
A gentleman married for 17 years appreciates the ritual. “There is the choosing. The unwrapping. The cutting. The lighting up. The puffing. The flavor — all cigars have a different flavor. It is a quiet ritual, but it brings us together. I think women don’t understand camaraderie. My wife and I do.”
I often believed that for a man and woman to co-exist, it was important to have a room of one’s own — to write, to think, to be. But after cigar night, I am rethinking the concept of separate but together for laughter, for passion, and moments of silent independence.
Another of my cigar stories: Girls Cigar Night Out: Sexy Guys and Friendship
A Job Club: This story by Carey Gillam for Reuters is a bit heartwarming. “Tom Skidmore has been out of work only since December. But when his former employer filed bankruptcy in January and his severance evaporated, Skidmore knew he didn’t have much time. As the sole breadwinner for his family of five, he had to find work fast. So he joined a job club.
“Part networking opportunity, part therapy group, jobs clubs are rapidly emerging as hot spots for job hunters in America. The clubs, which are springing up in large U.S. cities as well as small towns, act as places to share fears over depleted savings accounts, polish resumes, practice 30-second personal pitches and hone survival strategies.” Here is that story Job Clubs surge.
A Lawsuit: I continue to be appalled by the swindlers of this world This story by Anna Driver tells of investors fighting back to get their assets. “Clients of Stanford Group Co sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Marshals Service and Stanford’s court-appointed receiver on Wednesday, arguing the government had no right to freeze their assets. ”
As I pointed out earlier, the Stanford group is comprised of the Greenwich, CT folk who made off with $550 million of their investors’ money. The freezing of assets has enraged and frustrated investors, including some who say they can’t pay medical bills or mortgages or buy groceries.
Read on and cheer on those who ask for justice. SEC is sued
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Copyright 2009 Rita Watson