Out of the frying pan and into the fire! It seems "Lighten Up" is the name of a nationally syndicated cigar radio program (both copyrighted and trademarked with a line of products). Send the cigars back, Marcus. Your 15 minutes of fame are over.

We have two choices at this point: ( 1 ) go with the runner up, "Three Guys Who Smoke Lots of Cigars and Then Write About Them", or (2) scrap the title and simply go with "The Cigar Guys". We've decided on the latter. We had a trademark search done on 'The Cigar Guys" and it came up empty. It looks like we're OK - - for now. We plan to apply for our own trademark just to avoid further trouble.

In our last entry, we gave you a heads-up on The Rough Riders, a made-for-TV movie that featured the proprietor of a local cigar store. We hope you saw it. It was simply bully. If you missed it, TNT will likely be repeating it.

History buffs will enjoy the authenticity. The Cuban campaign was well documented by journalists. Events in the movie (and much of the dialogue) follow written accounts closely. Even the sound effects try to duplicate the impact of the high velocity bullets from the 9mm Mausers used by the Spaniards.

The Rough Riders were a volunteer regiment comprised of an assortment of cowboys, Native Americans, prospectors and gamblers with a smattering of easterners and a few Ivy Leaguers. They suffered the highest casualty rate of any unit in the Spanish American War.

Roosevelt was an unlikely hero. He was nearly 40 years old with a wife and six children when he accepted a commission as a Lieutenant Colonel and second-in-command of the Rough Riders. Other than serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (a reward for his support during the McKinley presidential campaign), his previous military experience consisted of three years in the New York National Guard.

He arrived at camp with a dozen pairs of spectacles and a Brooks Brothers uniform that he had designed himself. By the time he had assumed command of the regiment and led the charge up San Juan Hill, he had become an incredibly brave and capable officer.

Tom Berenger was outstanding in his role as Roosevelt. Gary Busey was a hoot as Major General "Fighting Joe" Wheeler, a congressman and former Confederate general who was recruited by President McKinley to generate some broad-based support for the invasion. The role of Captain Bucky O'Neill was played to perfection by Sam Elliot. O'Neill, the onetime sheriff of Prescott, Arizona, will always be remembered for his last words, "Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn't made that will kill me."

But what about our friend from the cigar store?

His speaking lines (basically limited to "Yes Sir", "No Sir.") all wound up on the cutting room floor. He did, however, appear in four scenes. In one, his back is completely to the camera. The others are brief. (We taped the movie and typically had to use the frame-by-frame advance to find him.) He eventually gets shot. Nonetheless, he is part of a movie that we rank right up there with TNT's Gettysburg.

The walls of his cigar shop are filled with interesting pictures of actors and scenes from the movie. If you can catch him when the store is not too busy, he will show you the script, shooting schedules, the derby that he wore in his biggest scene and a really neat sketch book that provides a pictorial record of his time on location in Texas.

To commemorate both his participation in the movie as well as an exciting piece of history, our friend and his brothers have produced a premium cigar called The Rough Rider. The promotional ad is a real attention-getter. The distinctive blue and gold cigar band sits below a fiery battle scene of charging Rough Riders. Roosevelt is pointing a pistol right at the viewer. The bold caption reads "The second Cuban invasion has begun...."

Actually, the cigar is not Cuban but Dominican. It is made with Dominican filler and binder with a dark brown wrapper from Java. (Where's Java?, you ask. It's one of the islands that comprise Indonesia.) The cigar is made by Cusano Hermanos.

We purchased four robustos at $5.95 each. (Yes, we paid for them. Those Cigar Guys business cards only get you so far.) The robusto is known as the Reveille. Other shapes include the Lance Corporal (a corona) and the General (a Churchill).

The robustos were uniform in appearance and color. The construction was firm and resilient. Despite a very easy draw, the cigars burned slowly and evenly with neither excessive heat nor harshness. The ash was firm and grew to well over an inch without falling. Like most robustos, the cigars produced an enormous volume of smoke, but these seemed to generate even more than normal. There wasn't a mosquito within two blocks.

We had a hard time describing the taste and aroma. They were pleasant but not overpowering with few truly distinguishing characteristics. Overall, we would classify The Rough Rider as an unpretentious, all-purpose cigar that will stand up well outdoors. We think golfers would particularly enjoy it.

There is also a Rough Rider beer. Our friend offered us a tour of the brewery. We hope to take him up on it.

It just doesn't get any better.

The Cigar Guys Joe, Bill and Bruce

PS. If you would like to learn more about The Rough Rider cigar, call (908) 454-4886 and ask for any of the Miccio brothers. They ship anywhere.

PPS. All you NFL followers here is your chance to beat the Cigar Guys [gx1]in this years NFL season. Just join ESPN's Pigskin Football league and pick your teams through out the football season. Its FREE, so join and lets have some fun. All you have to do is sign up for a free membership, then pick your picks. each week. Then you can say "I kicked the Cigar Guy's Butts"

You can Bill@Enter.netfor any comments or questions.