Saturday at the Hut - 5/5/12

Aaron digging into Don's delicious BBQ
(click to enlarge). For other photos,
see The Tobacco Hutters.

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style on Saturday at The Tobacco Hut. Well, we didn't really celebrate Cinco de Mayo per se, but we did have some fantastic BBQ and other fixins from Don W. He announced on Thursday on The Tobacco Hutters that he was bringing his world famous BBQ on Saturday and it was well worth it! Don urged folks to bring Coronas for the minor Mexican holiday, but nobody obliged. But no matter, his BBQ'd pork butt and shoulder was out of this world! He supplied buns and his secret sauce, as well as boiled peanuts (yechh!) and I brought some potato salad. It was all very well received and we had a full house enjoying the feast. A big thank you to Don for supplying this and all his preparation - 12 hours to smoke it properly!

So who was there chowing down? Peter G, Joe K, Scott R, Jeff D, Bob (not me, and not Bobby M, but another Bob), Aaron C, Don of course, Tony, Lou, and myself. Paul O probably would have been there but he's in Vegas on some company junket.

Paula and I enjoying the Rays game
from the Times suite Friday night
(click to enlarge)

Allow me to back up a little...Paula and I hosted the Times suite at Tropicana Field on Friday night and watched the Rays beat up the Oakland A's, 7-2. David Price was on fire with 12 strikeouts, striking out every batter in the lineup at least once. Looks like they're playing okay without Evan Longoria who's out for several weeks with an injury. I would have strolled over to the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar to enjoy a smoke but, as host, I had to stay in the suite for the duration of the game. In any case, we had a great time, even though the food and beer tab was outrageous. A thousand dollars to feed 15 people wings, hotdogs, peanuts, and beer.

A little discussion came up on The Tobacco Hutters recently about attendance at the Trop and the reasons why it's so low. There are a lot of factors involved, ranging from the lousy economy to every game being televised to a short tradition of the game in the area. All I know is that right now the Rays have the best record in baseball and are playing exciting ball and to be ranked 28th out of 30 teams in terms of attendance is pretty crappy. They deserve better from the Tampa Bay area.

So if you're not a member of The Tobacco Hutters and have missed the e-mails I've sent out about it, you might be thinking, "What is this 'Tobacco Hutters' he keeps mentioning?" Well, it's our own social network, just for customers and friends of The Tobacco Hut. As of this writing, we're up to 22 members after just a week and participation and content is growing steadily.

It's a virtual space that is intended to be an extension of the real Tobacco Hut, a place that friends can come together, talk to one another through forums, write their own blogs on topics important to them, post status updates, upload photos and more.

How is it different from the blog you're reading right now? Well, The Sweetest Smoke is my blog where I write seemingly endless drivel and a handful of people read it. But there's very little room for discussion and the commenting mechanism is clunky and problematic. The Tobacco Hutters, however, is easy to participate in and is not meant to be just me creating content. It's your space, your community. Use it in whatever way you want.

It's free to join, but is not open to the public. To become a member, simply click on the highlighted links above, or right here: http://bit.ly/TobaccoHutters. I'll get notified that you've clicked on the link and approve your membership. Feel free to invite your friends if you like what you see. I encourage everyone to sign up though, if you haven't already - the more the merrier!

(The group is limited to 150 members - after that I have to go up to the next level which is quite a bit more of an investment. But that's a good problem to have and I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If it comes to that, I'll probably lay out the cash for it and then accept advertising on the site to defray the cost. No worries about that now, however.)

Toward the end of the afternoon, most of the folks had split for the day and who remained were Don, Peter, Scott, Lou and myself. We started talking about the "good old days" in radio and music, got into a debate about who the greatest guitarist ever was (Scott's vote was for Eddie Van Halen, Lou voted for Les Paul, and I topped them all with Jimi Hendrix), and finished with an informal game of "Name That Tune". We all tried stumping each other by naming a song and the others trying to guess the artist.

Scott stumped us a couple times with some April Wine songs (didn't know Scott was such a fan of the Halifax band), Peter tried to stump us with the song "96 Tears" but I immediately shouted out the answer - ? and the Mysterians. A little aside, there was a customer that wandered in during the quiz show segment of the afternoon and he said that Todd Rundgren wrote the song "96 Tears", but I can find no evidence of that, no connection whatsoever between him and ? and the Mysterians. The group formed in 1962 and the song was written by band member and lead vocalist Rudy Martinez. The only connection I could find between Todd Rundgren was that he covered the song in 1998 with his band Utopia.

Peter stumped us with "Come On Down to My Boat" by Every Mother's Son, which frustrated me because I have the song on my iTunes collection.

Scott maintains that Kansas was a one-hit wonder with "Dust in the Wind". Peter and I vehemently objected to the notion that they were a one-hit wonder but when Scott challenged us to name another song of his, we had to quietly agree with his assertion.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun shouting out song names and artists, especially the one-hit wonders, and even employed my iPhone to play samples of the songs. Lou was feeling a little left out so I played the opening couple notes of Glen Miller's "In The Mood" and he nailed it right away.

We were having so much fun playing Name That Tune that something happened for the first time ever, I think, at the Hut. I failed to finish my pipe. When it was closing time, I had about a third of the bowl left. I was so busy looking up songs on my iPhone and racking my brain trying not to be stumped by what Peter and Scott were throwing at me that I simply neglected my Ser Jacopo filled with G.L. Pease's Westminster tobacco. It was a fine smoke but, alas, I got too wrapped up in the fun to finish it.

And that brings me to the finish of this week's blog. See everyone next week, and see you around The Tobacco Hutters!

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 - 11/5/11

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

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