I really don't want to sound like sour grapes - but this was so destined to happen. I pause to reflect on the departure of a member of the online cigar community - but I'm strangely not shedding many tears. I'm sorry - I'm trying, but it's just not working. Mr. Caputo was not cut of the material of those folks that truly inspire me...

For those of you that were not there during the hay day of puff.com - this situation is a quandry for those of us that were there. There were some down and dirty things done at the beginning of that regime - too many to list in a short post. Let's just say - the folks behind Puff.com were not the kind of nice people they would have liked you to believe.

Right now (for me) it is like gawking at the scene of a horrendous train crash - you just gotta know what the heck happened... Not that it's a surprise (the only surprise was it took this long...). I'd love to know the back story on what happened to Daniel Lopez. That guy was creepy from the start - all of the bad traits I've seen in just about every nightmare that's graced the online cigar communities. Interesting that he's not resurfaced anywhere else. Perhaps he's saving himself for something great!?!?

I've tried to dig into the details of Mr. Caputo's untimely death - and I'm not finding a doggone thing. Which is rather strange. The guy did seem to have some $$$ and (at least in his mind) represented authority/power. But I'm seeing all sorts of indications that things were not as Mr. Caputo wanted them to be. That SEO stuff really is really creepy - it's designed to make something appear bigger/better than it actually is. Perhaps it's karma - Mr. Caputo was right in the midst of all of that SEO business. Here in his death he's completely slipped into anonymity. ...and boy it sure appears his wife Ms. Shari has moved on. From what I'm seeing she's not at all what she once was. I'm not seeing anything from anyone praising him for being any sort of decent human being. Which truly is sad. Was Mr. Caputo's life truly a life worth living? I hope when I pass I will leave at least some sort of small void - and folks will miss me.

RIP, Jon - RIP...