Saturday at the Hut - 2/12/11

We had more than a full house at The Tobacco Hut on Saturday; fortunately it was broken up into three shifts. I arrived early as I knew Scott and his entourage would be the first to punch the clock. I had told Scott earlier in the week that I would buy him a cigar for his birthday on his next visit to the Hut, and he didn't waste any time coming in for it. I tried to steer him towards one of Lou's house specials ($2.30) but to no avail. At least he didn't go crazy on me - he selected a nice mid-priced cigar. Happy Belated Birthday to a good friend and marketing guru!


Scott brought two brothers-in-law with him, Paul V and Jeff. Ed B also came, a little earlier than usual. Paul V is an old friend and familiar face at the Hut, and I think Jeff has been to a few events in the past. The word of the day became "pedestrian", not as a noun as in a person walking along the road, but as an adjective, meaning "lacking inspiration or excitement; dull." At this point, I can't even remember how the word came up. Paul was making some commentary about the subject at hand and used the word "pedestrian." Others questioned the usage and eventually pooh-poohed the word, but I flew to Paul's defense. It was a most apt and appropriate word and I salute Paul for his appreciation of the linguistic nuances for which the English language is known.


By the way, the word "pedestrian" comes from the Latin pedester which means "going on foot." However, if the suffix "ian" is added to it, its meaning becomes "written in prose" (straight expository writing as opposed to poetry). And in early English usage, prose was viewed as inferior to poetry. Etymologically, you can now see the link between "pedestrian" and "prose". You can also see that my English degree was not wasted, and that I have way too much time on my hands.


Switching to something that is far from pedestrian...Paul revealed an interesting discovery about Lou's Baker Street tobacco. He found that the combination of sipping a Lowland single malt scotch and enjoying a pipeful of Baker Street is a particularly exquisite marriage of flavors. I forget that Paul is also a pipe smoker; I usually only see him smoking cigars. Interesting discovery, Paul! I can see how the Baker Street with its Virginia tobacco and resulting hint of sweetness plus the Latakia would be complemented by a Lowland single malt. I'm not sure, but I believe such scotches are triple distilled, giving them a lighter taste.


As the first shift was packing up and cashing out, the second shift was arriving - Tom L, Joe K, and Peter G. There was a brief but rousing game of musical chairs and we settled into the afternoon's topics of conversation. Tom was well behaved and played nicely...there were only a few references to "Libbies", those of us who are more progressively minded and listen to NPR. Speaking of which, for the first time, I was wearing my NPR shirt and Joe was wearing his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" shirt. I'm still searching for the perfect response to Joe's choice of apparel.


The topic soon turned to the foreclosure crisis and we busily placed blame and solved the problems, all in a span of an hour or so. Tom has worked in banking, Peter had his own mortgage business, and Joe's wife was in the business as well, so it was interesting to hear three viewpoints on the housing collapse.

Neerup Sandblast
(Click to enlarge)

I was busy puffing on my Neerup sandblast, enjoying Baker Street of course, when the second shift punched out. The third shift soon arrived consisting of Ed F and Dan. Peter actually pulled a double shift and stayed over while Ed F and Dan settled in. Neerup pipes seem to be little known but are an outstanding value in pipe smoking. They are the creations of Peder Jeppesen, a Dane who worked for a long time at the Nording studio. He has been making pipes for over 25 years and his attention to detail really shows. He uses almost exclusively Corsican briar and black acrylic stems. I can't remember where I picked up this Neerup, but I'm quite sure it was only around $100 or so, a bargain considering how nicely it smokes. 


For those of you who remember "Box Tom", we now have "Box Ed", because like Tom, he now uses a box to transport his pipes, tobacco, and tools. Box Tom's container was an old shoe shine box converted to pipe usage, and Ed is now using an old cigar box courtesy of his friend Dan. Peter annointed Ed F as "Box Ed", which will be especially helpful so we don't confuse Ed B with Ed F.


Dan has made the plunge and bought himself a pipe. He loaded it up with some Baker Street and in no time was puffing away like a pro. Always nice to see someone new take up the briar. Welcome Dan! As your friend Ed now knows, an exciting journey has begun to unfold for you.


As the day wound down, there were four people smoking pipes. An older gentleman came in and picked up some tobacco and sat down and lit up. I'm embarrassed to report that I can't remember his name, but it was definitely a "small world" moment when we discovered that we are both part Seneca Indian. The amount of Iroquois blood running through my veins is far smaller than in his, but it was fascinating hearing him tell tales of growing up in upstate New York, areas I am intimately familiar with. Lou is more than casually familiar with it as well, as Dotty was born in the same area.


Finally, I delivered the Tinder Box Beefeater quarter bent pipe to Lou to clean up to give to aspiring pipe smoker Blake. Blake, when you're ready, the pipe is back to an almost-new state, thoroughly cleaned and sterilized and ready for your enjoyment. I also threw in an old Imco pipe lighter I had. Lou has everything ready and waiting for you!


Great to see everybody at the Hut and can't wait 'til next week. 


 - Bob