Not a Heartwarming Story.

[Doc Wylie]

Some good friends of mine adopted a child from a former Iron Curtain country. The lad was about 9 or 10 when the adoption went through and there were able to bring him to the USA. He had been living in an orphanage over there. Nice, bright and happy youngster who quickly took to all things American. They were (and still are, in spite of what I will relate) a happy, happy family

My friend has been a cigar smoker for about 30 years, and usually has several boxes at home to feed his habit. His wife never has given him any grief about it so he routinely smokes at home, in his truck, etc etc. Shortly after their new son came to live with them, my friend went to retrieve a cigar and found that all of his sticks (that's ALL... as in each and every single solitary mother effin' one) had been snapped in half. You can imagine his reaction. When confronted, his new son explained that he had been taught in Mother Russia that smoking was bad and that he felt it was his duty to remove the risk from their household.

Well, my friend was upset to lose his cigars but they are, afterall, replaceable (no rare or HTF's in this guys humidor)...but I think he felt some sense of pride that his son was trying to look out for his welfare. After further reflection however, he told me that he suspects the reason the kid was an orphan to begin with is because he probably turned his natural parents in for crimes against The State!

 

[gtadroptop]

Ouch. Time for a locking humidor.

 

[vortex]

I did something similar when I was maybe 8. I cut all my Dad's Winstons in half.

Well, the intent was similar. And this was before the brainwashing got so intense, too! About '62, I'd say. Kids sometimes have a skewed view of reality:

"Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other." (Becky, age 8)

 

[Breedy]

There was an article not to long ago in R&D about a family adopting a child from a former Iron Curtain state and the problems they had with him. Perhaps the stick breaking was out of spite and the child was lying to make up for it. I never know that the commies frowned upon smoking.

For what its worth a very good friend of mine and his wife adopted a child from China two years ago, when going through the process and investigating things, they found that children from China seemed to have less behaviorial and emotionial issues than those for old mother Russia. That was just their view, but their daughter is currently a well adjusted 4 year old.

 

[punk_lawyer]

I adopted a little girl from Russia and she has not done this kind of thing to me...yet.

I have spent a considerable amount of time in Russia and I arrived at one conclusion: EVERYONE SMOKES ! The orphanages do the best that they can to teach kids right and wrong and maybe they did have a talk about smoking. (There was a second conclusion: Russian women are HOT! But that conclusion does not apply to this thread). What's more, Moscow is an incredibly cosmopolitan city where fine and authentic Cuban cigars are found in every decent hotel or club. (Fidel had a close relationship with the Moscovites and it shows).

I am going to do three things:

1) Lock my cigars so that my daughter cannot get to them;
2) Teach my daughter to respect the work of Cuban craftsmen and to value their contribution to society under difficult conditions; and
3) Show my daughter the difference between an Ibold Black (which she can break without penalty if she wants to show she cares for my health) and an exceptional cigar (which she can break but only if she has enough money to replace it immediately).

 

[Doc Wylie]

Perhaps the stick breaking was out of spite and the child was lying to make up for it. I never know that the commies frowned upon smoking.

He's really a very personable little guy, and like I said seems to have adapted to our lifestyle very well so I don't think he did it in a mean-spirited way...and yeah, every picture I've ever seen from Russia always seems to show people puffing away. Their brainwashing must have kicked up a notch.

 

[DesertRat]

I did something similar when I was maybe 8. I cut all my Dad's Winstons in half.

Well, the intent was similar. And this was before the brainwashing got so intense, too! About '62, I'd say. Kids sometimes have a skewed view of reality:

"Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other." (Becky, age 8)

When I was little I used to insert toothpicks in my mom's cigarettes so they would taste bad and she would quit. She ultimately did although whether the toothpicks were the reason I don't know

 

[Doc Wylie]

I adopted a little girl from Russia and she has not done this kind of thing to me...yet.

I have spent a considerable amount of time in Russia and I arrived at one conclusion: EVERYONE SMOKES ! The orphanages do the best that they can to teach kids right and wrong and maybe they did have a talk about smoking. (There was a second conclusion: Russian women are HOT! But that conclusion does not apply to this thread). What's more, Moscow is an incredibly cosmopolitan city where fine and authentic Cuban cigars are found in every decent hotel or club. (Fidel had a close relationship with the Moscovites and it shows).

I am going to do three things:

1) Lock my cigars so that my daughter cannot get to them;
2) Teach my daughter to respect the work of Cuban craftsmen and to value their contribution to society under difficult conditions; and
3) Show my daughter the difference between an Ibold Black (which she can break without penalty if she wants to show she cares for my health) and an exceptional cigar (which she can break but only if she has enough money to replace it immediately).

I should have added the disclaimer that this story is episodic only and does not seek to characterize all Russian children as anti-smoking vigilantes...and yeah, those Russian babes are HOT..especially the ones I see on the mail-order bride websites. :laugh:

 

[Breedy]

Perhaps the stick breaking was out of spite and the child was lying to make up for it. I never know that the commies frowned upon smoking.

He's really a very personable little guy, and like I said seems to have adapted to our lifestyle very well so I don't think he did it in a mean-spirited way...and yeah, every picture I've ever seen from Russia always seems to show people puffing away. Their brainwashing must have kicked up a notch.

Well thats good, I guess it goes back to the old TV show, kids say and do the darndest things.

As far as the brain washing goes, I am not sure you can get better than "we will destroy the evil west, hope you don't mind waiting in line 5 hours for a loaf of stale bread."

 

[punk_lawyer]

I should have added the disclaimer that this story is episodic only and does not seek to characterize all Russian children as anti-smoking vigilantes...and yeah, those Russian babes are HOT..especially the ones I see on the mail-order bride websites. :laugh:

I knew it was episodic only...no disclaimer needed because no offense taken! My daughter is an absolute joy to me and my family. Kids everywhere are unique and that is what we see with ours.

I used to put cayenne pepper in my dad's chewing tobacco. He still chews to this day!

Before I went to Moscow with my wife, I warned her that she would see women of uncanny beauty. I give my wife high marks on her own beauty. That being said, she wound up in awe of the Russian women. How they walk on 7 or 8 inches of ice in high heel boots is unknown to me. Why they dress to impress at every hour of the day is also unknown to me. They are truly remarkable and I have never seen more beautiful women in one place...and I have travelled a lot.