Saturday at the Hut - 6/12/10

The core regulars were in attendance today: Joe K, Peter G, and myself. Nice to see Steve B whom we haven't seen in awhile. We also welcomed Adrian into our midst. He is a regular customer but rarely sits down to enjoy a purchase. But this time, he spent the afternoon and we got to know him a little bit. Like Peter and the apparently-AWOL Barry, he is a walking sports encyclopedia.

Adrian, Lou, and I spent a good deal of time talking about labor unions and working for big companies. Lou is obviously a member of what journalist Tom Brokaw calls the "Greatest Generation." Not in the specific context of what Brokaw was talking about, i.e. fighting in WWII, but the general work ethic and loyalty that he has exhibited throughout his working life. Lou is a self-described "100% union man" and although we don't always agree on the subject of labor unions, I admire him for standing up for his principles what he's accomplished in his lifetime.

I did take some heat from Lou and Joe over last week's blog. Apparently Joe likes the Fox News Kool-Aid and isn't drinking it against his will. Joe, that stuff will rot your brain! Why not try the cool, pure waters of NPR?

Lou, sorry we misunderstood last week about the source of the USS Clinton question. It wasn't you asserting whether it existed or not, it was from an e-mail you received. And I guess when you said the USS Clinton in the context of the USS Reagan and fictional USS Obama, I inferred that you meant that the USS Clinton was named after President Bill Clinton. My bad.

Peter is obviously reading the blog because he brought the fedora back! Thank you, Peter! Sorry the picture isn't the best, but my camera phone is obviously more phone than camera, but you get the idea.

I liked my Cassano from L.J. Peretti's in Boston so much last week, that I brought it back and smoked it again this week. Again, it smoked like a champ all the way down. It has a light tan finish and it's already picking up some of the oils from my hand and darkening in places. I don't have many sandblasted pipes, so this is a nice addition to the collection.

Speaking of my collection of pipes and how they're mentioned from week to week on the blog, please read the post below this one entitled "An Open Letter to 'Tim'" post below this one, especially if you're Tim.

That's all for this week - cheers!

 - Bob

P.S. A shout out to James K for his recent engagement to Chantel. I know Joe and Val are excited to have Chantel as part of their family. Can't say that Chantel's family feels the same, but congratulations just the same! ;-)