Saturday at the Hut - 12/31/11

We had a full house at The Tobacco Hut today! Lots of folks in attendance and lots of fun. Nice to see a great turnout to support Lou. Let's get started with the roll call and then I'll dive into the highlights. Today saw Joe K, Tom L, Paul O, Ed B, Scott R, Jeff D, Don W, Brian J, Barry C, and a new guy, Aaron C. Aaron is a friend of Don's and may have been in before, but this is my first time meeting him, so I'll just call him the new guy. (Jim S, it looks like you're no longer the new guy). BTW, Aaron, it's customary for the new guy to bring pizzas for everyone even though Jim never did. Not that we're bitter or anything.

My new as yet unsmoked Stanwell
pipe and Erik Nording Hunter
Blend pipe tobacco
(Click to enlarge)

Paula got me a shiny new pipe for Christmas and I was so looking forward to smoking a bowl from a brand new tin of tobacco, but I've been sick all week so arrived at the Hut empty handed. When I have a cold, I don't feel like smoking anything. Tom L, on the other hand, was sick last week but lit up anyway so he's obviously more of a man than I am. Hmm...Tom was sick last week and now I'm sick this week. Coincidence? Anyway, hopefully next week this is the pipe you'll see me lighting up for the first time. It's a Stanwell Vario quarter bent w/acrylic stem. Can't wait to fire it up.

It got to be pretty crowded after awhile and it was such a nice day that most of us moved outside. We did leave Joe and Lou inside so that Joe could get some help with his upcoming trip to Vegas. Below is Lou pointing out on Joe's iPad where the Bunny Ranch is. (Click to enlarge).

Below are a couple shots of the gang enjoying their cigars. It really was a perfect day to be outside and I'm only sorry that I couldn't enjoy the fun and been able to light up as well. But I certainly enjoyed all the smoke that wafted my way.

Lou and Joe
(Click to enlarge)

Tom L, Ed B, Paul O
(Click to enlarge)

Scott R, Lou, Joe K
(Click to enlarge)

Tom L, Ed B, Paul O, Scott R, Joe K,
Out of frame: Jeff D, Aaron C, Don
(Click to enlarge)

We soon noticed that the fruit shipping place next door was getting an awful lot of traffic, even though it was closed for the holiday. Every five minutes some old person would hobble out of their car up to the door and tug on it in frustration, anxious to get their half gallon of orange juice or pint of orange-flavored ice cream.

In a flash of pranking genius, Tom L came up with the idea of creating a sign that read "Back in 5 Minutes" and taping it to the door, so that's what we did. We sat back and waited for the ensuing hijinks. Well, we waited and waited and nobody showed up so after our crowd had thinned out a bit, we moved back inside and kind of forgot about it.

Just having a little fun with the
customers of the store next door.
(Click to enlarge)

It didn't take long though for the first victim to come along - an orange colored pickup pulled up and promptly pulled away, presumably after reading the sign. A few minutes later a couple came up, hung around for a minute or two and left. Then the same woman in the white Buick from a month ago (see earlier post) arrived, read the sign and went back to her car to wait. And wait. And wait. Ed finally took a little pity on the lady and went out to inform her that the sign had been there all day and they were probably closed.

A little later a Phyllis Diller-look alike arrived and took the record for waiting. She stood outside the door for easily fifteen minutes. At one point, she even stood in front of our open door drilling us as to where the owners were. We expressed the proper indignation that they weren't there and sent her on her way. She was soon joined by another woman and when they finally left in a huff, we could hear one of the women say that she had already called the business and left a nasty message. 

Phyllis Diller look-alike
waiting impatiently
for the 5 minutes to be up.
(Click to enlarge)

A short time later, a woman carrying an almost-empty bottle of orange juice arrived in our doorway inquiring about the shop next door. She said she wanted to return the orange juice as it was sour. Of course, it was practically gone, but I'm sure the store has a very liberal return policy. In any case she, for some reason, found it necessary to tell us to remember the "Three A's" to please a woman. I tried to block out this whole portion of the afternoon, so can't recall exactly what she was talking about.

Ed joking with crazy O.J. Lady
(Click to enlarge)

Wanting to take the prank to the next level of immaturity, we decided to update the "Back in 5 Minutes" sign and add Joe's phone number to it, so that's what we did. Joe had already left for the day, so we couldn't ask him if it was okay. I'm sure he won't mind.

We just had to make a small
addendum to the sign.
Sorry Joe!
(Click to enlarge)

Barry continues to attract the crazies to the Hut. This time it was a lady who was walking past the store and glanced in, obviously attracted by Paul's pretty shirt. Paul waved hello but Barry beckoned her in and invited her to sit in Lou's chair. Fortunately for Lou, he wasn't sitting in it at the time, but he was not happy when he looked from behind the counter and found this woman sitting in his chair. She got on a tirade about presidential politics which was good for a laugh or two especially when Barry urged her to vote for Bob Harrison and she had never heard of him. Paul assured her that he was an idiot though and not worthy of her vote. I concurred.

Barry with his new
crazy friend of the week.
(Click to enlarge)

A quick note upon closing...let's plan on a get-together to celebrate Scott's 50th birthday on Sat, Feb 4th. Scott's usually a morning guy, so how about around 10:00? I'll bring the Doritos and Mountain Dew - just kidding Lou!

P.S. Aaron, we're just joking about bringing pizza. Of course, if you did we wouldn't turn it down.

P.P.S. Don't worry Joe, we took the sign down right after I took the photo of it. I think.

Saturday at the Hut - 12/3/11

We had a nice crowd on Saturday at The Tobacco Hut. I would like to think it was to celebrate my 48th birthday that day, but I'm more inclined to think that most folks showed up to lend their support to Lou who, as we know, is going through a difficult time right now. We did our best to bring a smile to his face and a laugh or two, and I think we accomplished that.

So who was in attendance besides Lou and myself? Attendees included Joe K, Ed B, Ed F, Tom L, Paul O, Bobby, and Brian J. It was a smoke-filled afternoon as the guys all lit up cigars and I enjoyed a pipeful of Wilderness Tobacco. Note to Ed F, I think I misspoke when you asked if it was one of Greg Pease's tobacco and I said yes. It actually is one of the McClelland brands, out of Kansas City. Anxious to hear what you think of the sample I gave you! By the way, Ed F was smoking some of Lou's Baker Street. I smoke it, but don't often get to experience the wonderful aroma of someone else smoking it, so thanks Ed!

Speaking of Ed, glad you're out of the hospital and on the mend!

A couple months ago Tom chided me for being an Apple Computer guy - "Mr. Apple" - but I was unable to figure out some function on the iPhone. In my defense at the time, I didn't own an iPhone so could hardly be expected to know how to operate one. Well this Saturday, I triumphantly showed off my brand new iPhone 4S to Tom - and he quickly put me in my place by showing me some simple feature on the phone that I had no idea existed. Sigh...thanks for the lesson, Tom!

From left: Tom L expertly using his iPhone, Joe K,
Ed F enjoying a bowl of Baker Street
(click to enlarge)

Paul told (and re-told a couple times by popular request) an hysterical story from a couple Christmases ago. It seems he was on a mission to find a particular 9-ft. artificial Christmas tree that only Wal-Mart carried. He had visited several and couldn't find one. At the last Wal-Mart he checked however, when he walked in, a worker was standing inside the store near the entrance with a carton containing the very tree Paul was after, calling out, "Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Rodriguez" to indicate that his tree had been brought up from the back for pick up.

Thinking quickly, Paul walked up and said, "Yes, I'm Mr. Rodriguez" since - in his words - he looks so Hispanic. As the worker was releasing the tree to Paul, the real Mr. Rodriguez arrived and pointed to the carton, saying, "No, I'm Mr. Rodriguez. See, it's written on the box."

Thinking even more quickly, Paul responded, "Oh, 'Rodriquez'? No that's the name of the shipping company. They're all marked like that." And he snatched up the tree and took it home. Priceless!

Seated, from left, Paul O, Ed B, Brian J
(click to enlarge)

Ed B was apparently fixated on Orange Julius and recently tried asking one of the workers at a Countryside Mall Orange Julius for the recipe. He was watching him make one and asked what the orange powder was that was sprinkled into the mix but was told it was a secret. Ed thinks it was just Tang, the drink of astronauts. But he said he was reasonably successful in concocting his own Orange Julius at home, with the help of said Tang.

Now that the citrus store is open next door, we're enjoying a steady stream of mostly older folks coming and going to get their bag o' fruit. In one instance, an elderly woman flung her door open and banged into the side of Paul's van. I think he said it was actually his wife's vehicle, so he wasn't too concerned.

In another instance, a woman swung in so quickly that she almost kissed the wheels and nerf bar on Ed B's Jeep. She missed the side of the Jeep by less than an inch, so we all had to wait for her to come back out and see if she would hit it on the way back out. See below for the photographic evidence that, while she came close, Ed's Jeep did in fact escape unscathed.

Blue hair beginning to pull blindly out of parking
spot, narrowly missing Ed B's Jeep.
(click to enlarge)

Finally, while Lou may be a bit distracted, he can certainly still dish it out like nobody's business! Paul made some reference to Lou's pants size (see post from a few weeks ago) with a comment along the lines of, "your stubby little legs". Lou didn't miss a beat though! He retorted, "I can still outrun your fat ass!" Glad you're still in fighting form, Lou!

I received an e-mail recently from Scott R that he and Paul V will be at the Hut this coming Saturday morning. Looking forward to seeing them both. Also, Jim "The New Guy" wrote me saying he couldn't make it this past Saturday as he was in Qatar but was hoping to make it this week. I'm sure if we asked him what he was doing there, he could tell us, but would then have to kill us.

Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 11/19/11

Today at The Tobacco Hut was a wild one, especially toward the end of the day. More on that later. First, let's do a roll call. Present and accounted for were Scott R, his brother-in-law Jeff D, and his son-in-law Corey. Paul O and Joe K were also in attendance as were Jim S (the "new guy" who will always be referred to as the "new guy" until he brings pizza and subs for everyone - sorry Jim, we all had to go through it) and Barry. And rolling up right at closing time was Adrian.

When I arrived all the seats were taken by Scott, Jeff, and Corey, so I had to make do with a folding chair. Grrr...I think as Keeper of the Blog I should get a permanent "nice" chair. No matter, I settled in with a Neerup pipe full of Greg Pease's most-excellent Westminster tobacco, a fine English blend.

Knowing that I was in the presence of eBay greatness (Scott), I told the story of how - in literally the last second - I lost an auction for a beautiful David Jones pipe. Jones is a pipe carver out of Texas and I own a couple of his creations already, so when I saw that he was now selling his pipes on eBay, I jumped at the chance. But, alas, I was outbid. Scott gave me some good pointers and strategies for winning the next one though, as did Joe later in the day.

The discussion between the five of us ranged from the Joe Paterno/Penn State scandal to politics to the new iPhone, which should be in my hot little hands this coming Friday. Scott showed off a new pocket knife acquisition of his and I tried to sell Corey some promotional advertising items for his cleaning business, but Scott (the promotional ad guru himself and my mentor in the business) was polishing up that new knife of his with a little too much zeal and giving me a weird look, so I eased up on the sales pitch.

Joe arrived and everyone but Paul left - you just have that effect on people, Joe! We talked about Joe's favorite topic for awhile - computers. Paul needed some advice on what to buy and we both jumped in and hopefully muddied Paul's mind just enough.

Jim (the new guy) arrived a little later and has apparently taken to the pipe quite nicely. He tried another of Lou's tobaccos, Mello Mix, a very nice light aromatic. Jim, this is definitely a fun stage of pipe smoking, one that never really goes away, that of trying new tobaccos. Enjoy!

Barry arrived and the fun got ratcheted up a couple notches, especially when someone that Paul knew in a previous life showed up to buy some cigars. As the guy was getting out of his car, Paul commented on how much he hated this particular slimy, thieving nemesis of his. Paul was mumbling and muttering the whole time the guy was in the store but when the guy stopped at his chair they chatted like old school chums. Barry was convinced that Paul was going to kick the guy's ass but when the time came, they were best of friends. Barry couldn't let it go and Paul soon found himself in the proverbial barrel.

A little while later some total stranger walking by the store ducked his head in and saw that we had the Ohio State/Penn State game on the TV. He then started to ramble, "Oh, you're watching the Buckeyes. Did you hear about the Penn State mess? You really have to root for Penn State. Why aren't you watching the Penn State game?" Um, we are. "Did you hear that the district attorney who was investigating the allegations against Jerry Sandusky disappeared, like five years ago?" he continued. Barry deadpanned it perfectly when he replied, "Really?" even though we had been talking about the very subject not five minutes ago.

And just to complete the picture, he seemed to, well, how to put this delicately, "play for the other team." Not that there's anything wrong with that (in the words of Seinfeld). But he never wavered from his spot just outside the door, head inside and he seemed to be doing something to the door frame that is probably illegal in most states. He was also looking at me a lot even though Barry was doing most of the talking.

After he left, we began talking about how Barry relishes his role of engaging the more, shall we say, colorful characters that walk past the shop. See last week's blog about him talking to Special Forces man. And who walked by again late in the day but Special Forces man. Barry gave him a quick shout out but he must not have had time to chat as he kept walking.

About ten minutes 'til closing, Adrian rolled up. He's back to his old ways, just breezing in and out. I asked him if, since there wasn't enough time to play a game of chess, why don't we just pretend to play and call me the winner, since it's a foregone conclusion anyway. Naturally, Adrian didn't take too kindly to that and pledged to return next week in time for a real game.

Adrian did lodge a complaint against me about the blog post a few weeks ago, recounting his tales of "conquest" that weekend. But, he did kind of bring it on himself. We did get Adrian to sit for a few minutes and hopefully he'll make it back soon.

Oh yes, in case anyone cared...the answer to the brain teaser from last week about the landscaper that planted five rows of four trees but only used ten trees total is...he planted them in a star pattern. Each corner and intersection of a standard five-point star is where he planted the tree, ten in total.

Before I forget, I did pledge to look something up: Barry wanted to know exactly what a "buckeye" is. It's a nut, of course, but he maintains that it is a chestnut, specifically a horse chestnut. I wasn't sure what it was, but I think it is a separate thing altogether and is simply called a buckeye. So, I now turn to Google. Give me a minute here and I'll come back with the answer.

Okay, here's what I found. The buckeye tree, which the buckeye nut comes from, is known as Aesculus glabra, and is a tree species native primarily in the Midwest and Lower Great Plains region of the United States and parts of Ontario, Canada. The Wikipedia entry for the buckeye tree makes no mention of the horse chestnut, so I initially thought I was correct that the buckeye was a completely separate tree from that of the horse chestnut. But I like to do a thorough job in my research, even if that means I am found to be incorrect about something. (Lou, of course, likes to think that I believe I'm always right and will never admit to being wrong, but - and I'm right about this - that is completely false. I freely admit my mistakes and have often written about my errors in this very space).

Anyway, I discovered that the horse chestnut tree is known scientifically as Aesculus hippocastanum, and is found in the Balkans, Albania, parts of Greece, and Serbia. So, the genus is the same for both trees, Aesculus, but the specific species is different: glabra for the buckeye and hippocastanum for the horse chestnut. Some, like Barry, use the names buckeye and horse chestnut interchangeably but, to be accurate, the buckeye should only be used to describe the so-called New World members of the Aesculus genus, i.e. the tree found in North America. There are slight differences in leaf structure between the two species, but they are from the same genus. Incidentally, the horse chestnut tree is not related to the chestnut tree, which is from the genus Castanea.

So, who's right? Well, in common usage, Barry was right but, technically, they are two separate species of trees. I guess in the end, we're both right. It's a win-win and everyone's happy.

A shout out to my son Ryan, who turned 21 today. Happy birthday, son! I love ya!

Until next week...
Bob

P.S. BTW, Jim, I was just kidding about having to supply pizzas. I mean, if you want to, we won't turn them down, but you don't have to.

Saturday at the Hut - 11/12/11

Today we had a small, but fun group at The Tobacco Hut. In attendance were Ed B and Barry C as well as a new, and hopefully regular, guy - Jim S. Good to see Barry two weeks in a row after a long absence, and Ed, of course, roaring up in his topless Jeep.

We were expecting to see Coast Guard Don but he was AWOL. Not only was Ed prepared to buy him a premium cigar, but we had brought lots of food in preparation to throw kind of a mini-party. Well, when I say lots of food, I mean Joe K replenished our supply of peanut butter pretzels and Barry surprised us with a big tub of Cheese Doodles. But the thought was there.

Joe K was absent as he was taking his dog Sammie to some sort of dog reunion to the south somewhere. Apparently he stopped by on Friday with the express purpose of bringing the peanut butter pretzels (thanks man!). Scott R also stopped in sometime on Friday, according to Lou. I don't know if Adrian made an appearance during the week as he sometimes does, but let's not forget that Saturday is the day. At least that's the day that I'm at the Hut, and the world revolves around me, after all.

I pulled the trigger and ordered
myself a new iPhone 4S!

I was hoping Joe was there as I wanted to announce that this very morning, before I came to the Hut, I ordered an iPhone 4S! I'm finally ditching this ancient cell phone I've been carrying around for two years and getting a smart phone. Of course, nobody has them in stock, so I had to order it from the Apple store online and it should arrive sometime during the last week of November. It's going to be a tough few weeks waiting for my new toy!

So yes, we have not only a new guy, Jim, but he's a pipe smoker! Actually, he just became a pipe smoker today! Welcome to the Brotherhood of the Briar, Jim. A longtime cigar smoker, he's been thinking of taking up the pipe and he certainly came to the right place. He ended up buying a nice Ben Wade smooth finish bent and loaded it up with some of Lou's Goldenrod tobacco. We must not have scared him off, because he pulled up a chair, settled right in and began puffing.

A lot of the conversation today centered around Joe Paterno's woes at Penn State, and we watched the Penn State/Nebraska game. Other entertainment included making fun of the Special Forces guy (our nickname for him - I seriously doubt he served in the Special Forces, at least of our military) who stumbled past the door a couple times with his two dozen eggs. He's famous for "taking out a guy with one judo chop" some time ago at Wal-Mart for calling his wife a name. Apparently, Wal-Mart rewarded him with two dozen eggs at the time and today he appeared again with two dozen eggs. I presume they are not the same two dozen eggs, but who knows?

Today found me smoking a bowl of McClelland's Wilderness tobacco (third Saturday in a row for Wilderness) in my Cassano tan-colored sandblast. This tobacco has just the right amount of Latakia for a nice, pungent, woodsy flavor. The Cassano handled it nicely, smoking cool and dry all the way down to fine, gray ash. I brought a La Gloria Cubana cigar with me that I had bought a couple weeks ago, but decided to save it for another day.

Kudos to Scott, our resident knife guy. His blog was featured on the Knife Depot blog and our man was interviewed! Knife Depot is a large online knife retailer and a link can be found to Scott's interview here. Congrats man! BTW, Scott has also recently prepared a calendar for sale just in time for next year featuring his knife photography. It can be found here.

We're all wondering how Mike G is doing in Bradenton taking care of Vic's nuts. Vic is on a chartered tour to Israel and, as Ed suggested, perhaps he's exploring franchise opportunities for his nuts in Tel Aviv. As long as they're Kosher nuts, I think you might be sitting on a goldmine there, Vic!

Completely off topic, but how about a little brain teaser as a diversion? Maybe I'll make this a regular - or at least semi-regular - feature of the blog. Here we go...

A landscaper returns from work and is sitting at the kitchen table with his kids. The kids ask, "Did you work hard today, Daddy?"

Dad says, "I did. I planted five rows of four trees each." His little third grader, wanting to show off her new found skills with the multiplication table, says, "You planted 20 trees, Daddy!"

He says, "No, I'm sorry, that's wrong. I planted 10 trees." She responds, "That's impossible!"

The dad responds, "No, it isn't, and here's a hint: If you look at one of the math or history test papers that your teacher has returned to you recently, you're going to find the answer."

The little girl sits there and thinks for a minute, and then she says, "I've got it!"

What did she find on her paper that gave her the answer? 

Leave a comment below or send me an e-mail with the answer. I'll provide the solution next week.

Cheers!

Saturday at the Hut - 11/5/11

We had a great crowd at The Tobacco Hut on Saturday, consisting of weekly regulars and a couple folks we haven't seen in a long time. The regulars in attendance were Joe K, Peter G, Paul O, Bobby M, and Ed B. And we welcomed back some, er, irregulars - Scott R and Barry C. To be fair, Scott showed up last Saturday but had to leave as soon as he arrived, but this week he stayed and smoked two cigars (not at once, of course).

Scott's recent acquisition
(Click to enlarge)

It was show and tell time as Scott brought along a very special knife he reviewed recently on his blog. This is the Sunset Smooth Bone Moon Pie Trapper by Canal Street Cutlery. Quite the impressive knife and Scott generously passed it around to fondle and smudge up with fingerprints. Fingerprints? No matter, as soon as it was passed back, he took out his handy polishing cloth and lovingly buffed all the smudges off, carefully placing it back in its box.

Scott is living the snowbird's life, having recently returned from summering in New York, in the same region that Paula and I traveled to a couple months ago. We compared travel notes and talked about how spectacular the scenery is in upstate New York (see my blog from a few weeks ago for photos).

We had an Oliva Cigar rep join us for awhile. Very nice guy (unfortunately, I can't remember the fellow's name) who knows a lot of the same people that Scott knows since Scott used to work at Blue Smoke in Clearwater. We all commiserated about the sorry state of FDA regulations over tobacco and insane tax rates on cigars and tobacco. Unfortunately, it's only getting worse.

Snack Alert! Snack Alert! The beloved peanut butter pretzels are now gone. Paul and I finished off the last of them. So whoever wants to go to Sam's Club to replenish our supply, please try and go before next Saturday. I, of course, am philosophically and violently opposed to all things Wal-Mart, cannot patronize such an establishment. But will gladly consume products purchased from there.

Bobby arrived and it was show and tell time again. He was describing his new invention, which I won't go into here since it's still in the development stage, but he brought along a cardboard mock-up to demonstrate the concept. Paul, whose mind apparently never leaves the gutter, instantly saw the mock-up not as what it truly demonstrated but, in his words, "a paper airplane with an erection." It didn't help that Bobby was using terms like "shaft" and "penetration".

Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago I called some of our no-shows out on the carpet. A virtual "Wall of Shame" for those who seem to have forgotten that Saturdays are for gathering at the Hut. Honey-do list? What honey-do list? There are cigars to be smoked with the boys at the Hut! Well, my gentle admonition seems to have had an effect on one used-to-be-weekly visitor...Barry C arrived. Great to see you, Barry! Your picture comes off the Wall of Shame!

Peter wasted no time trying to engage Barry in a debate about the Dallas Cowboys, but sparks didn't fly as much as they have in the past. The laughter did ensue when Lou told us his pants size. I can't for the life of me remember how we got to discussing what size Lou's pants are, or what prompted him to reveal this, but apparently he wears a 44/27.

Could this be Lou?

Barry burst out laughing, asking Lou to confirm that his inseam measures only 27". Bobby made some mention about his own sleeve length being longer than Lou's inseam. Bobby later sent me this photo to demonstrate approximately what a 27" inseam would look like. Lou was definitely a good sport about it, having eased himself into the proverbial barrel.

A couple of reminders about upcoming events...Coast Guard Don will be here next Saturday, November 12th, Veterans Day weekend. And February 3rd of next year is Scott's 50th birthday. How about we throw him a Tobacco Hut party on Saturday, Feb. 4th? I know it sounds like a long way away, but we can put together something nice, like we did for Joe's son James when he came back from the west coast a few years ago. You remember all the various caterers we had plus the dancing girls, right?

A big thank you to everyone who came on Saturday! It's nice to have a full house. See you next Saturday!

Saturday at the Hut - 10/29/11

Saturday at The Tobacco Hut found me enjoying a pipeful of McClelland's Wilderness in a tall Ascorti rusticated - it's a rich mélange of both Syrian and Cyprian Latakias, red Virginias, Orientals, and even some Yenidge, which is a smooth Turkish tobacco. Combined with Diet Mountain Dew and peanut butter pretzels, my palate was more than satisfied!

Readers from last week's blog will know that Adrian arrived last week more than satisfied himself, which I reported dutifully in said blog. Apparently Adrian came in again during the week not entirely happy that his peccadilloes were broadcast to the blogosphere, for which I apologize. Well, not really. I mean, the man did burst into the store all atwitter about his triumphs. I did treat his "activities" with a modicum of discretion, I believe, and left it to the gentle reader to fill in the blanks, as it were. His absence this Saturday, however, was noted by many. We can only imagine what happened, or didn't, this weekend. Hope to see you all smiles next Saturday, Adrian!

So we know that Adrian was a no-show on Saturday...who did make it? Here it is - big announcement - lots of fanfare - drumroll please...Scott R showed up after his long trip south from New York! Wait, wait. Time out. While it is true that he showed up, his visit was a short one. In fact, he called me in the morning whilst on his way to the Hut, but by the time I called him back twenty minutes later he was headed home. Apparently he had some business to attend to on the home front and he had to take off. He did pledge to make it next Saturday, so hopefully he can make it and we can catch up with the Knife Guy!

You guys are reading his knife blog, right? Scott certainly knows his stuff when it comes to pocketknives, is a prolific writer, and can take a damn decent photo of his favorite steel subjects. Like I've said before in this space, I'm not even that into knives, but his blog is an entertaining one and I always learn something from it.

Okay, Adrian was a no show, Scott had to do an about face upon arrival, so who was at the Hut? Well, Bobby M couldn't make it either. He was at a boat show in Ft. Lauderdale but will hopefully be in attendance next Saturday. Peter G was MIA as well. No Tom L either. But here's the rollcall: Joe K, Paul O, Ed B, and - winning the prize for traveling the farthest for a cigar - Mike G from Tennessee. Sorry, Scott, if you had stayed you would have won the prize!

Yes, in a surprise visit, Mike arrived and it was just like old times at the Hut. Mike is actually in town to watch Vic's dog and take care of his nuts (Vic's nuts, not the dog's). Remember, Vic is the proud owner of a Nutty Bavarian Roasted Nut cart at a local flea market. Mike will be roasting up Vic's nuts and serving them up to customers while Vic is out of town.

Mike regaled us with stories from the backwoods of Tennessee, from rattlesnakes, coyotes, and man-eating bears, oh my! And, of course, his own beloved pets through the years. Great to have you back, Mike. Hopefully you can visit again during your stay.

Ed B has a bit of a reputation when it comes to food, specifically deli trays. Years ago at one of Lou's cigar tastings or open houses, Ed apparently made short order of the meat tray, and the legend has stuck. Well, around 4 o'clock, Mike was asking about various regulars at the Hut, including Ed. We said that Ed comes in now and then, and was here last week. Mike replied, "Call for a deli tray and he'll show up." Moments later, the mere mention of a deli platter is all it takes, because in walked Ed!

If you read last week's blog, you might have seen a comment from Coast Guard Don. He's planning on spending some time with us on Saturday, Nov. 12. Looking forward to it, Don! Here's Don's comment:

I miss the Saturdays at the Hut, last time I was in town no one else was...well I will be there on Nov 12th and since it is veterans day weekend I better get my choice of a chair and someone should by me a cigar!!! 

Well, Don, I'll gladly buy you a cigar, but I don't know about giving up my chair!

Bracelet made from paper beads
(Click to enlarge)

Time for a shameless plug. As many of you know, my wife Paula makes jewelry on the side. She has a booth next Saturday, Nov. 5th at the Arts & Crafts Show at the North Bay Community Church in Clearwater. It's at 3170 N. McMullen Booth Rd, between 580 and Curlew, across from Morton Plant Mease Hospital, between 9am-2pm. She'll be featuring her paper bead bracelets along with some other items. Most pieces are just $5 so please help spread the word. With the holidays coming, these make fantastic gifts! And, I've even created some of them to help her out. The beads themselves come from various third world countries like Uganda and Nicaragua and help the women who make them rise out of poverty.

Finally, you may have noticed that the blog looks a little different. I posted a quick article a few days ago that I was experimenting with different color schemes, fonts, sizes, etc. Anyway, I'd welcome any feedback. Thanks!

Cheers!
 - Bob

Blog Redesign!

In the words of one of TV's greatest sci-fi series, The Outer Limits, do not attempt to adjust the browser, we are controlling transmission. In other words, I'm monkeying around with the look of the blog. The color, size, fonts, etc. All the content is the same but I've also added a Shop tab and will feature some nifty products from my online shop.

Over the next few days, I'll be experimenting with the different color schemes and templates, so bear with me. I'll settle on one I like soon, but if you have any feedback, don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Thanks for reading!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 10/22/11

I haven't written a blog post in a month and I'm not sure how to really recap the goings on at The Tobacco Hut this Saturday...at least without offending the more sensitive readers. Let's first start with the attendees: Joe K, Paul O, Ed B, Adrian, Lou, myself and, later, Bobby.

The discussions were fairly benign when it was just Joe and Paul and Lou and me. Some sports talk, some computer talk, etc. But then Adrian walked through the door and right away the topic changed to, well, sex. As I mentioned, I don't want to offend the more delicate reader, so I won't go into specifics, but let's just say that Adrian was fired up from certain recent activities. None of the rest of us were and some were lamenting that fact more than others. The talk even turned downright bawdy and would probably make a longshoreman, or even Tom L, blush.

Ed B brought his own twisted sense of humor to the festivities when he arrived and, before long, we were all laughing so much and so loudly that I'm surprised the sheriff's department wasn't called. Maybe it's because they were already represented.

I will say that Adrian is an expert pantomimist, adroitly (and somewhat crudely) re-enacting various, um, postures that he recently engaged in. Suffice to say that the more base and Neanderthal urges were on display throughout the afternoon. It is my hope that next week will bring more sophistication and culture to the establishment.

It wasn't all lust and fornication at the Hut, however. After Joe had left (he was mumbling something about taking a cold shower as he was leaving) the talk turned to the economy and, specifically the merits of a flat tax. It was at this time that Bobby arrived and he joined in the conversation as well. My position was that a flat tax (call it 15%) is actually a regressive tax, i.e. it takes a larger portion from the poor than it does the rich.

My argument is that while a flat tax sounds fair because everyone is taxed equally, it actually affects the poor more deeply than the rich. The way to think about this is that when someone making $20,000 per year is subject to a flat 15%, they are left with $17,000 to pay for their rent/mortgage, food, utilities, gas, etc., something quite difficult to do in today's economy. But if someone making, say, $1 million per year is taxed at that same 15%, they are left with $850,000 which is still a princely sum of money and they can still live more than comfortably on their net income. Therefore, a flat tax is actually regressive.

Lou was my ally in this debate and we battled valiantly against Adrian, Bobby, and Paul. The opposition argued that there is nothing to stop the person making $20,000 per year from improving his lot in life and working up to making a million per year. Moreover, their argument went, why should the rich be penalized with a higher tax rate for working hard. The debate evolved (devolved?) into how easy or hard it is, to work oneself out of poverty. Lou's and my argument was that the poverty cycle is extremely difficult to break out of. Adrian, Bobby, and Paul maintained that with a positive attitude, perseverance and hard work, one can indeed rise out of dire circumstances.

Several examples were offered as proof of the rags to riches story, but anecdotes don't tell the whole story. Indeed, there is a large body of evidence that the cycle of poverty is widespread and a growing trap for large segments of the population. The curious reader can view a short synopsis of the problem here.

The final debate was between Bobby and me. I was wearing my Tom Wahl's t-shirt, from a drive-in restaurant in Avon, New York where I recently traveled. I maintained that they have the best hamburgers anywhere, but Bobby quickly disputed that, pointing me in the direction of Alachua for a Stogie Burger at Conestoga's. It does get good reviews and if I'm up that way I may have to try it, but I also encourage Bobby if he's ever in the vicinity of Rochester to make the drive for a Wahlburger or, my favorite, the Hollywoodburger (pictured).

Well, we didn't solve any of the world's problems, but probably created a few, and had a great time along the way. Hope to see everyone next week!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 9/24/11

This week's gathering at The Tobacco Hut wasn't as wild and raucous as last week's - of course without Tom L and Adrian making wild and unfounded accusations of racism toward me like last week the discourse was more subdued. In attendance were Joe K, Bobby, Paul O, Lou, and myself.

It was good to see Joe again as it's been awhile since we've connected. I was gone on vacation for a couple weeks, then Lou closed the store while he was on vacation and last week Joe was MIA as he was suffering from swimmer's ear. He ended up going to an ENT doctor and undergoing some treatments that sounded less than pleasant but he's on the mend now. I don't know why he didn't just pour vodka in his ear like his son James did several years ago when he swam across a retention pond that probably measured well above safe levels for fecal material.

This makes two weeks in a row for Mike G's son-in-law Bobby and it's nice that someone's finally classing up the joint! Bobby has an interesting background, from living abroad in various exotic locales to his boat racing and his Puerto Rican heritage. In fact, he told a good self-depracating joke about his own ethnicity: Why aren't there any Puerto Ricans on Star Trek? Because they're not going to work in the future, either. It's probably better coming from Bobby himself than me since I'm not Puerto Rican. Me telling the joke just makes me sound racist. Damn, maybe Tom and Adrian were right!

Lou was complaining about the slowdown in his computer's speed lately and Joe and I were giving him some advice on what to do about it. Well, actually Joe was giving him practical advice and I was just advising him to get a Mac instead. Joe was estimating that Lou's computer was 4-5 years old and rather than installing Windows 7 on it to speed it up, the recommendation was to just buy a new computer. Rebuilt computers can be had for such an inexpensive price that at that age (the computer's age, not Lou's), it really makes sense to just replace it. Bobby agreed, having had good success with rebuilt devices.

By the way, thank you Joe for passing along the glowing recommendation from your friend who hasn't had any problems with their computer because (drumroll please)...it's a Mac.

It was also good to see Paul O as it's been several weeks since we've both been at the Hut at the same time. Paul's dry wit is always appreciated. He's built up quite a repertoire of jokes and one-liners about death - perfect for his line of work in funeral pre-planning.

Later in the afternoon, the talk turned to politics and included such topics as the influence of lobbyists, "Obamacare", and unions. It wasn't too divisive and I think everyone agreed that voter apathy is one of the biggest problems. I was proudly wearing my NPR shirt but was a little disappointed that Joe hadn't worn his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" t-shirt but he said he had to visit a customer about a computer before he came to the Hut, and didn't want to potentially upset a revenue source.

Saturday saw me smoking a bowl of G.L. Pease's Westminster tobacco in my Ser Jacopo sandblasted Canadian. Unfortunately, I had packed it a little too tight and had some trouble getting it going at first, but it soon loosened up and turned into a wonderful smoke. The sharp aroma from the Latakia was most enjoyable. Thank you in advance, Lou, for cleaning up my Corona Old Boy lighter as it's getting pretty gunked up with carbon and having difficulty lighting.

A reminder if I didn't include anyone in my change of address alert: I've switched from Verizon to Bright House as my provider so have changed e-mail addresses. My new e-mail addy is bob.harrison@tampabay.rr.com

I couldn't resist the allure of what the Bright House salesman when he came to my door. Well, let me correct that. I couldn't resist the allure of what he was selling. He actually looked a little like Mike G. In any case, we're now getting almost a hundred more HD channels for $25 less per month and the first month is free. Bright House is working hard to win back customers that they've lost over the last few years to Verizon and I'm obviously not loyal to any particular company. Except to you, Lou! In contrast to Paul who called himself a "cigar whore."

Everyone's favorite knife guy, Scott R, is on schedule to return to Tampa Bay in late October, so hopefully we'll see him in a month or so.

Speaking of missing regulars...where have some of you guys been? I'm thinking of Ed B and Darryl G. And Paul V - yes, you Paul, I'm talking to you! Box Ed, where have you been? Even Peter has turned irregular on us. Hey Vic, put your nuts down and make another trip up from Bradenton man! And I've all but given up on Barry. And there used to be this landscape guy who came in who always regaled us with his dating prowess. Steve was his name, I think. And Preacher Jim, how are you going to "save" me if you don't come in? Of course, I was gone for two weeks myself recently, so if you think it's hypocritical of me to call you guys out, come in and tell me! Seriously, would love to see some packed houses in the weeks to come!

'Til next time...

Saturday at the Hut - 9/17/11

It's been five weeks since I've updated the blog, but I have some good excuses. Last Saturday, Lou and Dotty were on a gambling trip to Tunica, Mississippi and the store was closed. The two Saturdays before, Sept 3 and Aug 27, Paula and I were on the Mother of All Road Trips, traveling from Florida to Tennessee to Ohio to New York and back. More on the trip in a moment. And the Saturday before, Aug 20...well, The Tobacco Hut was open and I was there. I guess I just didn't feel like writing a blog post that week. In any case, I'll try to catch up on what's been going on the last several weeks, starting with our 3,313 mile vacation.

Paula and I arrived in Coker Creek, Tennessee the afternoon of Fri, Aug 26 and were able to find Mike & Diane G's place with no problem. We'd been there before - about six years prior - and the GPS certainly helped. Mike and Diane have a wonderful piece of property in the mountains of southeast Tennessee and Mike has a new friend - his dog Shya (not sure of the spelling). She showed up on the front porch one day and they've been inseparable ever since. See pictures below of Mike, he and Diane's home, and his dog Shya.

Shya, on the banks of Coker Creek
(Click to enlarge)

Mike & Diane's home
(Click to enlarge)

Mike, in his element, spinning some yarn
(Click to enlarge)

Thanks for putting us up for the night, Mike & Diane! Diane's cooking is fantastic and enjoying a cigar on the front porch was a perfect way to end the evening. We'd love to pay you an extended visit in the spring perhaps. Nothing too long, just three or four weeks!

The next day found us pulling into Columbus, Ohio to visit my son Ryan, just entering his junior year at Ohio State. He took us to a wonderful Thai restaurant in the Short North district and the next day he gave us the grand tour of the campus. I have to admit, it was a little surreal having my son show me around the buildings and grounds of where I went to school almost thirty years ago. Below are some pictures from our stop in Columbus.

Ryan, Paula, and I at Nida's on High, a fabulous Thai
restaurant in Columbus.
(Click to enlarge)

Paula and I clowning with Brutus at Ohio State
(Click to enlarge)

We arrived in Cleveland the evening of Sun, Aug 28, staying at my friend Mike and his wife's house. It was great to see Mike, who I first met in 4th grade and we've been best friends ever since. This was Paula's first trip to Cleveland so I enjoyed showing her where I grew up, went to school, hung out, etc. We also had lunch one day at Mr. Hero's where I enjoyed a Romanburger - a sandwich I had at least once a week when I lived in Cleveland. It still tasted as good as I remembered, but my 47-year-old digestive system had a little trouble handling the grease.

Mike had gathered some old friends at his house our first night there and it was great to spend time with them. I did embarrass myself thoroughly when I went out to the car later in the evening to get a cigar. It was dark and I didn't see a landscape paver, and did a full header into their flower bed. In addition to scraping over a rock with my ankle, I took out a landscape light of theirs, crushing it as I landed on it. Fortunately, no one saw me, but there were some questions when I returned to the party as to why I had a big rip in my shirt. Sigh...it's hell getting old.

The "Bob Harrison Reality Tour" continued as we headed off to the Rochester, New York area to visit with various cousins. Paula fell in love with the Finger Lakes region, especially the little village of Honeoye Falls. We spent a day driving entirely around Seneca Lake, and visiting eight or ten of the wineries that dot the shores of the lake. We had lunch at the southern end of the lake in Watkins Glen at the marina - with a beautiful view of the lake.

Paula and my cousins tasting some wine at the
Damiani Winery on Seneca Lake.
(Click to enlarge)

 The next day was one of the highlights of the trip for me. We spent the day at Letchworth State Park, a 17-mile park on both sides of the mighty Genesee River as it travels northward to Lake Ontario (The Genesee River is one of the few rivers in North America that flows northward). Over the millennia, the river has cut a deep gorge (in some places over 500 feet high) through the bedrock, earning the park the name of "Grand Canyon of the East".

Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park, NY
(Click to enlarge)

Middle Falls, Letchworth State Park, NY. This is the view
from the front porch of the Glen Iris Inn above.
(Click to enlarge)

I shot this just for Peter. A US Food Service truck
making a delivery at the Glen Iris Inn.
(Click to enlarge)

Railroad trestle and Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park, NY.
The Erie Railroad built the 820' long 240' iron and steel
bridge in 1875 and it is still in use today. My late Uncle Roger
actually flew under the bridge in his private plane once or
twice in the 1970s. Probably illegal. Equally as illegally,
I have swum at the base of the Upper Falls, careful to not
swim too far downriver and over the Middle Falls.
(Click to enlarge)

I made sure to enjoy a Hollywood Burger at Tom Wahl's in Avon. I have very fond childhood memories of Tom Wahl's and even once made a 14-hour roundtrip excursion while in college so I could have one of their burgers. See pictures below of what you're missing if you haven't been to Tom Wahl's.

The famous Hollywood Burger at Tom Wahl's, Avon, NY.
(Click to enlarge)

After a few days in the Rochester area, we headed off to the Thousand Islands area of New York. We originally planned on meeting up with Scott R for breakfast in Palmyra at the Acropolis restaurant, but he had to cancel as he and his wife were headed to New England for the holiday weekend. Note to Scott - maybe it was for the best, my cousins who live in Victor referred to it as the "Acrapolis" restaurant!

The Thousand Islands is where Lake Ontario flows into the St. Lawrence River. An island is officially counted as an island if it has at least one tree on it, and the area boasts exactly 1,864 islands. We took an hour-long boat tour from Alexandria Bay, and then spent several hours touring Heart Island and Boldt Castle.

Boldt Castle, built at the turn of the century by George Boldt,
owner of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, for his wife Louise. When
George received word that his wife had died, he halted
construction and abandoned the project. The Thousand
Island Bridge Authority purchased the castle in 1977
and restored it to the point where it had been abandoned.
It remains unfinished.
(Click to enlarge)

Pump house for Boldt Castle, Heart Island, Alexandria Bay, NY.
(Click to enlarge)

Smallest inhabited island in the Thousand Islands.
(Click to enlarge)

 We had dinner in Clayton, NY, at the Thousand Island Inn, and the home of the original Thousand Island dressing. Paula ordered it on her salad; I had ranch. Interesting side note...I didn't know until we returned that the Thousand Island Inn is where my mother and father stayed for their first wedding anniversary in 1951.

The motel in which we spent the night at Alexandria Bay was a little, well, creepy. We affectionately call it the Bates Motel and it didn't help that the proprietor looked remarkably similar to Norman Bates. I think the place was built in 1961 and hasn't been updated since. See pictures below.

The "Bates Motel" we stayed at in the Thousand Islands.
It was more than a little creepy.
(Click to enlarge)

Interior of our room at the "Bates Motel". Note the original
orange shag carpet, rickety furniture, hideous bedspread,
and strange white patch on wall where we presumed
the owners tried to clean up the blood splatter.
(Click to enlarge)

Paula had never been to upstate New York and we are seriously considering moving up there at some point. If we could get out from under our house, we'd be up there in a heartbeat. Of course, she might think differently if we visit the area in the wintertime. That being said, she's originally from Boston and I'm from Cleveland, so winters are not unknown to us.

Our return trip involved driving 1,420 miles in two days. I was never so happy to get off the road. The last little bit from about Ocala to home was the toughest. But all in all, we had a fantastic trip, saw some great people, the weather was perfect, and I ended up shooting almost 1,000 pictures.

I was sooo looking forward to re-joining my smoking friends at the Hut after my return, but Lou had the shop closed that next Saturday, so I had to wait until this weekend. It was worth the wait, not only for the first pipe I'd had in several weeks, but for the fun and hijinks that ensued, especially with Tom L and Adrian in attendance.

Also in attendance were Peter G and Bobby M, Mike G's son-in-law who paid a visit back in August when Mike was in town.

There was extensive discussion about the state of our economy and who's to blame. Most of us agreed it was largely the fault of the bankers and, thank you to Tom for recommending a documentary titled "Inside Job" from filmmaker Charles Ferguson and narrated by Matt Damon. It's a look at the outrages that occurred leading up to the 2008 economic meltdown, with plenty of blame for the Republicans and Democrats alike.

Bobby talked a lot about the Dave Ramsey personal finance course, which Peter was familiar with as well. There are some great ideas for achieving "financial peace" including eliminating debt, building up emergency reserves and even paying off mortgages early.

The talk turned a little edgier, and a whole lot funnier, when Adrian arrived. Somehow I got painted as some sort of racist though. Maybe it had something to do with saying that when playing chess with Adrian, I always won with the white pieces. Or when I came out of the restroom with a "White's Only" sign. It's all in fun though, right Adrian? Seriously, Adrian dishes out as much as he takes and there's plenty to pile on about white culture.

Even Peter and his Greek heritage took a bit of ribbing. No one is immune at The Tobacco Hut; everyone has their day in the barrel as Lou and Joe like to say. Speaking of Joe, I was sorry to hear that Joe was feeling under the weather with an ear infection and couldn't make it in on Saturday. Hopefully he'll make it in next week.

Until then...
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 8/13/11

Today was one of the liveliest and most fun Saturdays at The Tobacco Hut in a long time! In attendance were Joe K, Vic, Tom L, Lou, and me. And, winning the Traveled-The-Furthest-To-Attend Award was Mike G, all the way from Tennessee. And he brought his son-in-law Bob with him.

It was a wild affair from the start when Vic brought in a large cooler filled with, of all things, deli meats. As many of you know, Vic "knows a guy" in New York who makes homemade various kinds of sausages, deli meats, and liverwurst. We've had recent tastings of liverwurst and apparently Joe placed a monster order, which Vic delivered today. Tom and I sat in amazement while they actually weighed out various amounts of meat on Lou's tobacco scale. Don't know if Vic kept the proverbial thumb on the scale or not.

Joe amassed a fairly large quantity of various and sundry meats, money was exchanged, and it was all wrapped up and put back in the cooler for safe keeping. At one point, Tom made a grab for the cooler, but Joe gave him the "Look of Death", and Tom slowly eased back into his chair. I don't think I've seen Joe as protective of something since he leaped out of his chair and chased some kids with a shopping cart away from his car ten years ago.

Vic also brought in copious amounts of cheese, including a delicious Welsh cheddar cheese from Sam's Club. Actually, all the cheeses he brought in were from Sam's Club and, although I'm reluctant to admit it since I hate all things associated with Wal-Mart, it was all very good.

Tom had never tried liverwurst before, so one of the frozen chubs was put outside to thaw. Crackers were opened and Tom was soon no longer a liverwurst virgin. I won't describe what Tom did with the 18" long chub of liverwurst before it was sliced open. Suffice to say that the woman across the parking lot at the Windmill water station was more than a bit surprised.

Before I forget, I have to point something out - something that everyone said wouldn't make it onto the blog. Vic brought his iPad in and was trying to find his bookmarks. He brought up the bookmark menu, but the actual links weren't there. He asked if I would take a look at it, so I did, being the "Apple Guy". Well, I couldn't find them either and suggested that somehow they had been deleted. At that point, Joe (I think it was Joe, may have been Mike's son-in-law Bob) clicked the "Bookmarks" button and all the bookmarks magically appeared. So yes, I didn't know something. However, Vic later asked if I could expand a chess game on the iPad to fill the screen and I successfully did that, so I believe I am vindicated.

Vic announced a new business venture - selling his prized nuts. It's not as bizarre as it sounds. He's actually licensed a cart from The Nutty Bavarian. He'll be setting up shop soon in the Red Barn flea market in Bradenton, selling cinnamon-glazed roasted peanuts, cashews, pecans, and almonds. Vic has a friend who's been doing it up north and has been quite successful with it, so he's taken the plunge and very shortly Vito Paul's Nutty Bavarian cart will be open for business. Congratulations, Vic, and good luck to you!

Vic has traded in his prison guard uniform for that of the Nutty Bavarian - glazed roasted nut extraordinaire!

Of course, being typical, immature guys we couldn't let the opportunity pass without making numerous references to Vic's nuts. Most were too vulgar to repeat in a family-friendly forum. Too bad Scott wasn't here today; Vic showed off an awesome knife. Scott, you would have been drooling, my friend.

One of the funniest moments (of which the printed word will probably not do it justice) occurred when Mike was telling Tom, Lou, and me about a recent trip he and his wife took to a small town in North Carolina. One of their stops was at a cupcake shop. Now, for those of you who know Mike, you'll have to picture every unique-to-Mike nuance and inflection in the following dialogue:

Mike: Now I'm not real big on cupcakes, but they had a snicker-doodle cupcake -
Lou: A snicker-doodle cupcake?! (apparently Lou loves snicker-doodles)
Mike: Yeah, a snicker-doodle cupcake. And it was out of this world.
Tom: Did you bring one back for Lou?
Mike: What?
Tom: Did you bring one back for Lou?
Mike: Yeah (reaching into his pocket), I got your snicker-doodle cupcake right here. I've been walking around for two weeks with this thing in my pocket to give to Lou. Just disregard all the lint and it might be a little stale, but enjoy!

Now if you know Mike, imagine him saying those last lines absolutely dripping with his one-of-a-kind sarcasm, and the rest of us absolutely busting a gut laughing. Tom and I were practically in tears.

Throughout the day, Joe and Tom were involved in high-level negotiations regarding some sort of probably illegal boat transfer to James in Atlanta. Today had it all - a little earlier Tom and I witnessed Joe passing Bob some kind of substance marked "Dramamine". Not sure what that was all about, and probably don't want to know. Deli meats from a questionable source, boat transports, Dramamine transfers, Vic's nuts...the mind reels.

At another point in the day an African-American father of three came into the store with his three young boys selling M&M's as a fundraiser. The boys were a little shy, but explained that it was for their school and it was for a "Night of Stars". Tom asked them who some of the stars would be in attendance and one of them replied with the name of some black artist that none of us had ever heard of. After a moment of silence, the father said, as explanation, "It's a black thing!" and we all burst out laughing. The wallets opened up and M&M's were purchased. After they left, Mike brought out his trusty pair of dice and said, "Bring those kids back here and let's play with these. It's a white thing!"

We were hoping that Darryl would show up. He had e-mailed Lou and me earlier in the week saying that he had been under the weather but was hoping to make it today. Hope you're still on the mend, Darryl, and can make it in soon. Peter was in Ft. Myers, but he said hello to everyone via phone when I called him. No sign of Paul O, who's been stopping in regularly for the past several weeks. Adrian apparently came in yesterday, but was afraid to show up today for fear of losing his second game in a row of chess.

I'm sure I've forgotten numerous things that occurred today, but what a fun day at the Hut!

By the way, today saw me smoking a Crown Viking freehand I bought from Lou several years ago. I had it filled with a new tobacco for me, Wilderness. It's created by blender Fred Hanna and put out by McClelland. I got it from a guy on Smokers Forums and today was the first day I tried it. What a wonderful tobacco! It has Virginias, Orientals, and both Cyprian and Syrian Latakias. The layers of flavor were readily apparent and it was a smooth, but rich tobacco. Lou filled up a bowl as well and enjoyed it with me.

A shout out to Lou for cleaning, sanitizing, and polishing up a pipe of mine I'm sending off to the guy on the same forum. It was an H. Jones Easy Loader originally owned by my stepfather. I got it when he passed away several years ago and I don't smoke it too often anymore, so I thought why not pass it along to someone who will enjoy it.

Until next week!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 8/6/11

First, a heartfelt and sincere apology for not writing the blog last week. Joe K was out of town and was relying on it to find out what he missed and Tom L has suddenly become my biggest fan, addicted to everything I write. When he walked in today, he practically screamed at me for not writing the blog last week (in fact, he did scream at me - it was very frightening).

Thankfully I already had my pipe loaded when Tom launched into his tirade. My hands were shaking so badly afterward, I don't think I could have managed to put more than a few crumbs of tobacco in it. Much like the measly economic crumbs Tom and his neo-conservative friends allow to trickle down to the masses. C'mon! I'm the token liberal in the group...I'm allowed the occasional jab at Tom, et al.

Anyway, today found me smoking a David Jones rusticated billiard filled with G.L. Pease's very tasty Westminster. It has the perfect amount of Latakia in it and has a great flavor. The aroma will probably only be pleasing to fellow smokers. It's been my experience that tobaccos with Latakia don't have a particularly nice aroma to non-smokers. Oh well, I was surrounded by smokers and nobody complained.

Last week we discovered that Lou was a telegram courier in an earlier life. It was his first job, working for a company called Postal Telegraph Company. Alas, they couldn't compete with Western Union, perhaps because they didn't give Lou a bicycle with which to deliver his telegrams. Instead, he walked. We all had some good natured fun picturing Lou walking leisurely along making his urgent deliveries. I was able to locate an image of a Postal Telegraph telegram on the web and display it here in the hopes that it will bring back fond memories for Lou.

Need to get a message to someone fast? Use Postal Telegraph and ask for Lou!

Lou also revealed that shortly after the telegram courier job, he went to work for a florist. Not as a florist, but making deliveries primarily (walking?). He did say that he occasionally arranged some of the flowers as well. Good to know that Lou is in touch with his feminine side.

And it's OK for a man to be in touch with his feminine side. Note to Paul O...I'll have you know I enjoyed Key Largo very much.

Before we get too far afield, today's attendees included Tom L, Joe K, Peter G, Paul O, Adrian, Lou, and myself. Joe was in Atlanta last week, helping his son James close on his first house and get settled in. Congrats to James on the house! We will naturally be expecting invitations to the housewarming party. Of course, none of us were invited to the wedding, so I'm not going to hold my breath for the housewarming party.

The talk turned to politics, not surprisingly with the rancor in Congress about raising the debt ceiling, but our discourse was actually fairly civil. I think it shows that among reasonable people, the anger and disgust is actually aimed toward our esteemed lawmakers in Washington (of both parties), who are far more concerned with positioning themselves well for the next election than doing what's right for the country.

Joe and I talked computers and Tom is considering purchasing an iPad. Probably if Apple was on the verge of releasing an iPad 3, Joe would have sold Tom his iPad 2 in the store, as he is wont to do from time to time.

I regaled the assembled with tales from the book I'm currently reading, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terrorism, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild. I know Joe especially likes to hear what book I have my nose in, but I didn't realize how much Paul was eager to hear about it. I suppose the snoring should have clued me in.

We also came dangerously close to talking about women's stuff, with an extended discussion about couponing. Fortunately, the talk turned to sports or something before we moved on to makeup and shoes.

After Joe, Paul, and Tom left, Peter and I discussed how things were going with his new job and sales in general. Adrian arrived but not in time for a game of chess. No matter, I'm still the reigning champion. He pledged that he would come in earlier next week so perhaps I'll offer him a rematch. In any case, when we do play again, Adrian will be white. We know Adrian secretly prefers to be white, as do most folks. Being black puts you at a disadvantage right off the bat. Truth be told, I can't remember who played what when he beat me three games in a row, so in the end it probably doesn't make any difference who plays with the white pieces and who plays with the black (plus I've run out of racial double entendres).

Cheers!
 - Bob