Inklings and the Cigar Club

Florida State University students will soon return to a fresh semester. But, one consequence of being in Greenville, SC is that I will not be joining them and I won't be a regular at the "cigar club" each Friday afternoon.

The cigar club is a wonderful meeting between economics faculty and graduate students to discuss life, current economic events, recent research articles, current projects we are working on, and so much more. I looked forward to those meetings each week and the community we shared ---community is a marvelous privilege that sharpens the mind and emboldens the spirit.

In addition to the community that is present at those meetings I felt an attachment through time to previous communities of scholars. I felt our group was carrying forward the kinds of traditions embodied in groups like the Inklings at Oxford with C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other literary figures. They were friends who read and discussed their work over pints and pipes at one of the local pubs (mostly The Eagle and Child).

For most Friday's from now on my body will be in Greenville but heart will be at the cigar club in Tallahassee.